Pre-Columbian - Ancient Pottery for Sale

Possibly first developed in Colombia or Ecuador, pottery succeeded baskets and gourds as containers in ancient times. Throughout the entire Pre-Columbian world, pottery became the most common surviving artifact. Both hand-modeled and molded pots and clay objects were made. Decoration involved incising designs, carving or molding reliefs, and employing various techniques of painting and polishing. Although polychromed ceramics were produced, most pottery was painted with one or two colors or left unpainted.

Mayan Javalina Whistle Ancient Mayan Whistle, ca. 600-900 A.D. Molded terracotta pottery vessel depicts a standing javalina (or man wearing ceremonial dress). Remains of original white slip. $645.00

Whistling Colima Dancers, ex-Butterfield's Matched pair! Ancient Pre-Columbian Dance Figures, from West Mexico, Colima culture, ca. 200 B.C. - 300 A.D. Terracotta pottery figures (clearly male) with hands $2,795.00

Huari / Wari Canteen - Woman, Snakes Ancient Pre-Columbian Canteen, Wari/Huari culture, ca. 700 - 1000 A.D. Polychrome terracotta pottery vessel depicting a bulbous female with a pair of snakes... $2,595.00 $2,105.75

Moche Fineline Bottle - Warrior Ancient Pre-Columbian Bottle from the north coast of Peru, Mochica / Moche culture, ca. 400 - 500 A.D. Polychrome pottery vessel depicting a war club with warrior assembly... $2,450.00

Fabulous Nazca Bird-Form Vessel From ancient Peru, ca. 200 - 400 A.D. Wonderful Nazca polychrome vessel with a single stirrup spout on its back, colorful tail and head, breast decorated with white base... $4,150.00

Pre-Columbian potters created many plain, functional pottery for common use, but they also formed elaborate and intricate art for religious use that required great skill to produce. They buried pottery with their dead to accompany them into the afterlife, thereby demonstrating the predominance of pottery in their culture and their skill at creating it to modern archeologists. In Pre-Columbian times, kilns were not used; pieces of pottery were fired in an open fire or a pit in the ground. Potters did not use any type of glaze, but they did burnish the surface of their pots with stones. Pots were decorated with gods, animals, plants, everyday scenes and geometric designs.