Pre-Columbian, Central Peru, Huari (Wari) culture, ca. 500 to 1000 CE. A superb pottery vessel of gentle, round-bottomed form exhibiting a rare depiction of a janiform human head with angular facial tattooing painted densely across the cheeks. The red-ground visage dons a beige-hued headband decorated with X motifs as well as stylized avian creatures, and a pair of ears protrudes from the sides of the walls. Human heads with distinctive facial decoration and caps were a popular motif in Huari artwork; this may relate to the use of human heads as trophy objects, or perhaps for the veneration of ancestors, a favored theme on Huari (and other Peruvian) ceramics. Size: 4.125" L x 3.75" W x 2.75" H (10.5 cm x 9.5 cm x 7 cm)

Provenance: Estate of Peter H. Tillou Collection, thence by descent. Acquired in the 1990s, collection # 360. Appraised by Marianne Huber in 2014.

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#188524

    Condition:
  • Very light abrasions, otherwise intact and choice. Excellent preservation to facial features, decorative motifs, and pigment colors.

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by Artemis Fine Arts
January 30, 2025 8:00 AM MST
686 S. Taylor Ave., #108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Artemis Fine Arts

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