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Lot 23
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Colima & Costa Rica Redware | Dog Effigy, Squash Jar, Snuff Pipe & Frog Vessel
Colima & Costa Rica Redware | Dog Effigy, Squash Jar, Snuff Pipe & Frog Vessel
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Pre-Columbian, West Mexico, Colima, ca. 300 BCE to 300 CE; Central America, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed period, ca. 100 BCE to 500 CE. A charming group of four hand-built redware vessels drawn from two of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica's most collectible ceramic traditions. The Colima objects comprise a miniature squash-form jar with characteristic burnished orange slip and a double-headed dog vessel whose alert ears and sturdy splayed legs capture the lively naturalism for which Colima animal effigy pottery is celebrated. The Costa Rican pieces include an Early Atlantic Watershed snuff pipe with bifurcated spout and a double-headed zoomorphic jar modeled after a frog or amphibian, its squat body and applied facial features consistent with the ceramic vocabulary of Costa Rica's pre-contact ritual assemblages, where creatures of the liminal wetlands carried associations with rain, fertility, and transformation. Size of largest (Colima dog): 4" W x 2.6" H x 3.4" D (10.2 cm W x 6.6 cm H x 8.6 cm D)

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

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Item # 202398

  • Condition: Fair. Both zoomorphic jars and pipe have been repaired with break lines visible. Some nicks, chips, and small losses throughout. Otherwise, nice remaining detail and scattered earthen deposits.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000