Lot 54, Auction 4/20/2026: Chupicuaro Bowl, Casas Grandes Jar & 2 Colima Whistles

$260.00

In stock

Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Chupicuaro, ca. 300 BCE to 100 CE; Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE; Northern Mexico, Casas Grandes (Paquime), ca. 1200 CE. A fine group of four Pre-Columbian pottery objects representing three distinct cultural traditions of ancient Mesoamerica. Included are a Chupicuaro tripod bowl, a Casas Grandes (Paquime) Ramos Blackware lobed jar, and two charming Colima bird effigy whistles. The Chupicuaro tripod bowl, dating to the Late Formative period, is skillfully modeled with three hollow conical legs and finished in a lustrous red slip with a burnished surface. Chupicuaro ceramics, among the earliest refined wares of ancient Mexico, are noted for their graceful shapes and vivid polychrome finishes, serving both domestic and ceremonial functions. Beside it stands a Casas Grandes Ramos Blackware jar from Northern Mexico. The vessel displays the characteristic lobed body and short neck, its surface fired to a smoky gray-black hue through reduction firing. Size of largest (tripod): 7.9″ Diameter x 3.3″ H (20.1 cm x 8.4 cm)

Pottery of this type is associated with the later Ramos phase of the Casas Grandes tradition, when artisans produced a rich variety of polychrome and blackware forms reflecting trade and ritual practices of the ancient Paquime culture.

Completing the group are two Colima bird effigy whistles, each with pierced openings and stylized features. Such instruments were common in shaft tomb cultures of West Mexico, used to accompany ritual music and ceremonies associated with fertility and ancestor veneration. The playful modeling and perforated forms suggest dual roles as both musical devices and symbolic offerings. Together, these four objects present a harmonious survey of artistry across Mesoamerica – each reflecting a regional interpretation of form, function, and spiritual meaning within Pre-Columbian life.

Condition: Tripod dish has been professionally repaired with restoration over break lines. Lobed jar has repair and chipping to rim. Birds have nicks, chips, and abrasions, and all have surface wear commensurate with age. Otherwise, jar and birds are intact and all are very nice with scattered earthen deposits. Both birds still function as whistles.

Provenance: ex-Hayes collection, via descent, originally acquired in Mexico in the 1970s

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