Pre-Columbian Antiquities from Mesoamerica and Mexico

Mesoamerica is the region extending from central Mexico south to the northwestern border of Costa Rica that gave rise to a group of stratified, culturally related agrarian civilizations spanning an approximately 3,000-year period before the European discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus.

The major Pre-Classic cultures of Mexico were the Olmec and the western cultures of Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit; Teotihuacán, the Maya cities, the Zapotec center at Monte Albán, and the Classic Vera Cruz culture were the dominant civilizations of the Classic period; during the Post-Classic period important cultures developed among the Toltec, the Tarascan, the Huastec and Totonac, the Mixtec, and the Aztecs.

Colima Double Duck Vessel From ancient Mexico, Colima culture, ca. 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. A beautiful pair of co-joined ducks, top nocks on their heads and almost a smile to their beaks. $5,450.00

Set of 6 Veracruz Pottery Coast Watchers From ancient Mexico, Veracruz culture, ca. 550 to 950 A.D. Six similarly-sized terracotta pottery seated figures, ceremonially dressed, arranged as a group. $1,895.00

Mayan Carved Stone Hacha From West Mexico, Maya, Guatemala, ca. 550 - 950 A.D. Carved / Stylized Stone Hacha, probably related to the Mesoamerican ballgame. Hachas were believed to be... $6,750.00

Mayan Poison Bottle in Form of Pauahtun Scarce Mayan poison bottle in the form of the Mayan god Pauahtun (also known as God N) - god of 5 unlucky days. Circa 400-700 AD, made of fired clay with added cinnabar... $595.00

Colima Redware Pottery Bound Prisoner Lovely and evocative ancient Colima pottery jar! Ca. 200 BC to 200 AD, from West Mexico. Highly-burnished redware vessel in the form of a bound prisoner; seated with legs... $2,495.00

Jalisco Standing Male, Ex-Royal Athena Yes, this really was acquired at Royal Athena - back in the days when they sold Pre-Columbian art! Ancient Pre-Columbian standing pottery male from the Jalisco region... $1,295.00

Nayarit Seated Warrior, Ex-Sotheby's Getting hard to find this nice! Ancient Pre-Columbian pottery warrior from the Nayarit region of West Mexico, ca 200 BC to 100 AD. He sits with legs crossed, holding... $1,895.00

Colima Redware Dog Effigy From ancient Mexico, ca. 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. Redware pottery dog effigy vessel with strong brown/red coloration, plus remnants of scarification/tatooing. $2,395.00

Extremely Rare Chinesco Cojoined Couple From West Mexico, Nayarit-Chinesco, ca. 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. Beautifully stone-polished redware pottery conjoined male and female (male eating some sort of hallucinogenic... $7,250.00

Teotihuacan Stone Stucco Cosmetic Container From ancient Mexico, ca. 300 to 700 A.D. Carved stone cosmetic vessel with three compartments on top. Beautiful detailing, fabulous polychrome stucco coloring... $5,450.00

Many of the ancient Mexican cultures produced ceramic figures and pottery. The site of Tlatilco, in the Valley of Mexico, has yielded famous ceramics of remarkably early date, about 500 B.C. Delicacy of detail characterizes the figurines of Teotihuacán, and the finely decorated funerary urns of Monte Albán are particularly well executed. In the western states of Nayarit, Jalisco, and Colima, early cultures produced an enormously varied array of fanciful and often grotesque terra-cotta figurines and pottery during the Classic period, 300 to 900 A.D. These indigenous civilizations are credited with many inventions in building pyramid-temples, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, writing, highly accurate calendars, fine arts, intensive agriculture, engineering, an abacus calculator, a complex theology, and the wheel: however, without any draft animals, the wheel was used only as a toy. They also used native copper and gold for metalworking.