Lot 62

Taino Terracotta Double-Spouted Vessel with Zoomorphic Heads

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Lot 62
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Taino Terracotta Double-Spouted Vessel with Zoomorphic Heads
Taino Terracotta Double-Spouted Vessel with Zoomorphic Heads
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Taino Terracotta Double-Spouted Vessel with Zoomorphic Heads

Estimate: $600 - $900
by Artemis Fine Arts
June 25, 2026 9:00 AM MDT (In Progress)
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Pre-Columbian, Dominican Republic, Taino, ca. 1000–1500 CE. A rounded terracotta vessel rising from a softly globular body to a strap handle that arcs between two flaring spouts, each modeled as a small zoomorphic or anthropomorphic head with pierced eyes and a stubby muzzle. The shoulder bears lightly incised crosshatching, a quiet geometric counterpoint to the sculptural drama at the rim. Earthen pigments mottle the buff and ochre surface, the residue of centuries spent in Caribbean soil. The form belongs to the Chican Ostionoid tradition, the late ceramic horizon of the Greater Antilles whose makers, the Taino, refined the earlier Ostionoid repertoire into vessels of marked plastic invention. Twin-spouted bottles of this type, sometimes called stirrup or bridge vessels, likely served in domestic libation or in the preparation and pouring of ritual beverages, perhaps cassava beer or infusions tied to cohoba ceremonies. The flanking heads, common to Chicoid iconography, may evoke cemis, the ancestral or supernatural spirits whose presence animated everyday objects across Taino life on Hispaniola. Size: 4.8" D x 5.4" H (12.2 cm D x 13.7 cm H).

Provenance: ex-private collection, Fairhaven, Massachusetts, USA, collected from 2010 to 2015

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Item # 198508

  • Condition: Very Good. Some small chips to rims as well as weathering to surface with nicks and abrasions commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and very nice with rich earthen deposits throughout.

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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