Lot 166a, Auction 3/19/2026: 4 Colima, Maya, Chimu & Costa Rican Pottery & Textile

$585.00

In stock

Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerica, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE; Mesoamerica, Maya, ca. 250 to 900 CE; South America, Peru, Chimu, ca. 1100 to 1470 CE; Central America, Costa Rica, ca. 500 to 1500 CE. A diverse group of four Pre-Columbian artifacts united by avian imagery and sound producing ceramic forms. The lot includes a Costa Rican pottery cylindrical whistle decorated with applied nodular elements and a Colima pottery whistle modeled in the form of a bird. Both whistles remain functional and still produce sound, demonstrating the ingenuity of ancient ceramic artisans who designed these objects as both sculptural forms and musical instruments. Also included is a small Maya pottery sculpture of a bird, rendered in a compact form that emphasizes the animal’s beak and body contours. Completing the group is a framed fragment of a Chimu textile woven with the image of a bird, illustrating the importance of avian motifs within Andean textile traditions. Size: 4.3″ L x 2.5″ W x 2.8″ H (10.9 cm x 6.4 cm x 7.1 cm)

Together these objects highlight the broad geographic range and artistic diversity of Pre-Columbian cultures. Across Mesoamerica and the Andes, birds frequently carried symbolic associations with the sky, transformation, and communication with the spiritual world, making them enduring subjects in pottery, ritual instruments, and woven textiles.

Condition: Textile fragment is mounted behind glass in custom frame with wood backing; has not been examined outside of glass. Colima whistle has been repaired with break lines visible. Nicks, chips, and abrasions throughout all pottery pieces. Some pulls and discoloring to textile fragment. Both whistles still function as instruments.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection; ex-major gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, primarily acquired between 1985 and 2005

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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