Null Ɵ Moche burial mask, Peru, copper and silver
H. 9 7/16 in - W. 9 3/8 in.

Description

Ɵ Moche burial mask, Peru, copper and silver H. 9 7/16 in - W. 9 3/8 in.

16

Ɵ Moche burial mask, Peru, copper and silver H. 9 7/16 in - W. 9 3/8 in.

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Estim. 2 000 - 3 000 EUR

A cast iron figure of a toad, probably a weight for weighing nourishing foodstuffs, in keeping with the motifs on its back. This rare object has a channel running vertically through it, suggesting that this object, unique in the literature, a dense, heavy, solid cast iron, must have been a weight. Numerous balance flails for weighing wool, coca and many other items have already been discovered. Careful observation reveals motifs of well-known agricultural products from pre-Hispanic Peru, such as corn, cucurbits and other squash, beans and what appears to be a yucca root or tumbo plant, chillies and probably potatoes. The toad symbolizes water and humidity, necessary for abundant crops, and its representation with horns and fangs links it directly to a divinity. A toad-shaped deity with fangs is well known from the Mochica period, but what look like fangs here could be links that close the toad's mouth. Also visible between the toad's legs on the left flank is what appears to be a star-shaped weapon mace, which existed from the time of the Mochica kings to the Incas. The toad's legs, although well fused in three dimensions, are designed as flat surfaces (two-dimensional), and most certainly link this rare work to cultures other than the Mochica culture, which was the only one of Peru's pre-Hispanic cultures to conceive art in a truly three-dimensional way, and without directly receiving its influences from textile art. Copper was the third most widely used metal in ancient Peru. Its composition differed from period to period, and mixed with other alloys an arsenic-rich bronze called "arsenical bronze" existed, but it did not contain tin, as is the case with bronze. Vicus 200 BC to 400 AD, or Mochica-Wari 600 to 900 AD, Peru Copper alloy, very fine old green oxidation and superb old patina L.: 6.5 cm and H.: 3.5 cm For information on metallurgy in Peru, see pp. 127-136 in: Ancien Pérou Vie Pouvoir et Mort, Musée de L'Homme, Ed. Nathan 1987. See for balance flails p. 82 and 83 fig. 30 and 31 in: La Sculpture en Bois Dans L'Ancien Pérou, André Emmerich, Johann Levy et Sergio Purini, Ed. Somogy & Johann Levy Art Primitif 2006, Paris. Provenance : Jean Roudillon Collection

Estim. 800 - 1 500 EUR

An ornament depicting a figure wearing a headdress and carrying a staff, with eyes and ears adorned with shells. This figure, a dignitary or warrior, is holding what is probably a command staff, unless it's a spear or ancient mace. He is wearing a crown with a frontal ornament linking him to the nobility. These headdresses, often found in the tombs of Mochica kings, notables, priests or other dignitaries, were adorned with an owl or human head in the center. This ornament was originally part of a headdress or funeral mantle. In addition to the beautiful greenish copper oxidation patina that covers this ornament, we note the beautiful laminated and repoussé style of classic Mochica art, in particular the powerful right hand of the warrior holding his spear, treated with geometric facets, and the left hand with its roundness. Mochica culture, early intermediate 100 B.C. to 800 A.D., Peru Embossed copper (or copper alloy), shells H. 5 cm - D. 7.5 cm See pp. 148-158 for other laminated and repoussé copper items in Pre-Columbian Art Of South America, Alan Lapiner, Ed. Harry Abrams New York 1976. Provenance : - Former Le Corneur Roudillon gallery collection, 1969 - Jean Roudillon Collection Exhibition: Pérou, Trouvaille d'objets en cuivre et argent, Galerie Le Corneur Roudillon, Paris, December 9 to 20, 1969

Starting price 400 EUR

Greenish schist plaque with engraved decoration featuring a stylized crab. Mochica, Peru, 200-600 A.D. 10x15cm. Provenance: Castor-Hara sale, 06.07.2014, catalog lot 170. As is.

Estim. 2 000 - 2 500 EUR

Funerary mask-pendant. Speckled green diorite. Mexico, Guerrero state, Chontal culture, Late Preclassic, 300-100 B.C. Dimensions: 15 x 10 x 6 cm Present in an estate inventory from 1977

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