Colima Shaft Tomb Redware Vessel Gourd Effigy (Auction 2026-06-05, Lot 42)

$578.25

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A redware pottery vessel formed in the lobed shape of a melon or gourd, with a flaring neck and softly modeled segments emphasizing its organic inspiration. Such vessels were placed in shaft tombs – deep vertical burial chambers with side niches – where they accompanied the deceased alongside figures, animals, and offerings intended for the afterlife. Gourds held practical and symbolic importance in Mesoamerica as containers for food and liquid, and their ceramic representations likely carried associations of sustenance, fertility, and continuity. Size: 5.5″ W x 8.75″ H (14 cm x 22.2 cm)

Provenance: private collection of S. Saunders, Nogales Arizona, USA collection; Ex HD Enterprise, Denver, ex-Gene Langdon collection before 1990.

Condition: Losses to the rim as shown. Root marks and manganese deposits on the exterior, with some minor chips and abrasions. Interior has mineral and earthen encrustations.