La Collection Deletaille
Postclassic, circa AD 800 - 1100
Auction Closed
December 12, 04:12 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
La Collection Deletaille
Ulúa Marble Vessel, Ulúa Valley
Postclassic, circa AD 800 - 1100
Height: 5 ⁷/₈ in
Emile Deletaille, Brussels, acquired by January, 1970
Thence by descent
These stone drinking vessels are characterized by their alluring fluid low relief carvings in white, creamy yet often translucent marble. They were laboriously carved with overall patterns of scrolls featuring zoomorphic handles, as in these stylized crocodilians with bared teeth.
Vases of this style originated from sites near Travesia in the Ulúa Valley in the Gulf of Honduras, and were gifted and traded as luxury goods throughout the Mexican corridor from Guanacaste in Costa Rica to the central Mayan lowlands.
Cf. for the general type, see Pal Kelemen, Medieval American Art, New York, 1944, plts. 94 - 95.
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