SMALL XOCHIPALA STONE INCISED BOWL EARLY PRECLASSIC, CIRCA 1200-900 BC

Acquired by the grandfather of the present owner in the late 1960s

Thence by family descent

Finely incised in deep green serpentine, this vessel shows the highly schematic image of an animated profile of a zoomorphic large-eyed creature with spiked crested head and teeth, it faces the arched back possibly of another creature, decorated with a similar spiked perimeter. For a vessel with a naturalistic creature of spiked physiognomy, see Berrin and Fields, eds., Olmec: Colossal Masterworks from Ancient Mexico, San Francisco, 2010, pl. 105; see also mayavase.com, K7093, K7094, and K7095 for vessels in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.