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Lot 27A
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Huastec Polychrome Effigy Pouring Vessel w/ Face
Huastec Polychrome Effigy Pouring Vessel w/ Face
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Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Huastec, ca. 900–1200 CE. A buff-slipped earthenware pouring vessel from the Gulf Coast Huastec tradition, its plump carinated body resolving on one side into a modeled human face and on the opposing side into a cylindrical tubular spout. A high strap handle arches gracefully over the cupped neck, which functioned as the filling aperture. The face emerges from the shoulder in low relief: a hooked nose, lidded almond eyes, and an open mouth whose parted lips reveal a row of zigzagged teeth, a deliberate flourish that lends the figure an animated, almost vocalizing quality. Linear ornament in red and black pigment runs across a pale beige ground, with banded geometric motifs, hatched panels, and tapering rays that radiate from the face like ceremonial paint. The combination of an effigy chamber and a side spout marks this as a serving vessel, perhaps intended for ritual libations of pulque, atole, or cacao, the liquid issuing through the spout as if spoken by the modeled head itself. Huastec potters of the Postclassic period favored such polychrome wares, where restrained palettes of red and black were set against pale grounds to evoke body adornment and textile patterning. The form belongs to a broader Mesoamerican fascination with anthropomorphic vessels in which the act of pouring carries symbolic weight, the container becoming a body, the contents a voice. Size: 8.6" W x 8" H x 8.1" D (21.8 cm W x 20.3 cm H x 20.6 cm D).

Provenance: private Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private San Antonio, Texas, USA collection

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Item # 203137

  • Condition: Good. Handle has been professionally reattached with restoration and repainting over break lines; all done very well and difficult to notice. Expected surface wear with nicks and abrasions as shown. Otherwise, very nice with liberal remains of painted decoration and scattered earthen deposits in areas.

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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