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Pre-Columbian, Western Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE. A beautiful hand-built pottery vessel resembling the head of a shamanic man. The vessel rests upon a stable base, has a conical profile, smooth walls which taper upwards to a lipped spout, and a wide mouth leading to a deep interior cavity. Almond-eyes, tab-shaped ears, an incised toothy mouth, and a slender nose define the stylized visage with an aggressive guise suggesting of experiencing an entranced state. The shaman wears a traditional frontal horn projecting from a wide brow with an incised textile chinstrap and headband securing everything in place. The highly-burnished exterior is embellished with maroon and umber hued slip, though faded areas present an orange-red coloration as well. Perhaps used to hold substances of shamanic importance, this is a well-executed example from ancient Western Mexico! Size: 8.375″ L x 6.75″ H (21.3 cm x 17.1 cm).
Colima, located on Mexico’s southwestern coast, was during this time part of the shaft tomb culture, along with neighbors to the north in Jalisco and Nayarit. In this culture, the deceased were buried down shafts – 3 to 20 meters deep – that were dug vertically or near vertically through the volcanic tuff that makes up the geology of the region. The base of the shaft would open into one or more horizontal chambers with a low ceiling. These shafts were almost always dug beneath a dwelling, probably a family home, and seem to have been used as family mausoleums, housing the remains of many related individuals. This is a vessel likely made to be placed inside those mausoleums, perhaps to mediate between the worlds of the living and the dead.
What is the meaning of this vessel? Much of the religious practice of this culture and others in Mesoamerica involved shamans/priests entering an altered state, often using strong alcohol or hallucinogenic substances. The blank eyes and agape mouth of the face suggest that this is a depiction of a religious trance, and the horn indicates that this is a highly-experienced and immensely-powerful shamanic individual.
A similar, slightly-larger example hammered for $26,250 at Sotheby’s, New York “The Collection of Edwin & Cherie Silver” Auction (sale N09620, November 13, 2017, lot 28): http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/african-oceanic-n09620/lot.28.html
Condition: Restoration to horn, nose, base, and upper area of spout with some resurfacing and overpainting along break lines. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age as expected, small nicks and roughness to base and one ear, one large hairline fissure atop head, and fading to some incised details. Light earthen and mineral deposits throughout.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private T. Misenhimer collection, Hollywood, California, USA, famous Hollywood film producer
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