Fine Maya Lidded Blackware Vessel with Water Bird Early Classic, ca. A.D. 250-450

the domed lid with the dramatically modeled crested head of a long-beaked aquatic bird emerging from the watery surface, pulling up a fish held at the tip of it's rounded beak, the bird's sculpted head with large eyes with pupils lowered, knotted cords at the back (possibly indicating an attached mask) with backflap below, the swirling wings modeled in relief on each side, supported on a pedestal bowl incised with geometric motifs.

Jay C. Leff Collection (Sotheby's, New York, October 10, 11   1975, lot 517, illus.)
Joyce Strauss Collection
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1989

 

Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum, Ancient Art of Middle America from the Collection of Jay C. Leff,  November 22, 1966- March 5, 1967
Allentown, Pennsylvania, Allentown Art Museum, Pre-Columbian Art from Mesoamerica from the Collection of Jay C. Leff,  February 13 - April 2, 1972
Huntington, West Virginia, Huntington Galleries, Ancient Art from Middle America, Selections from the Jay C. Leff Collection,  February 17- June 9,  1974

Easby, Elizabeth K., Ancient Art of Latin America from the Collection of Jay C. Leff, The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, 1966, pp. 103 - 104; no. 456 (illustrated)
Pre-Columbian Art from Mesoamerica from the Collection of Jay C. Leff, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1972, no. 113
Linduff, Katheryn M., Ancient Art from Middle America, Selections from the Jay C. Leff Collection, Huntington Galleries, Huntington, West Virginia, 1974, no. 142

Overall excellent for both the lid and base. The base shows crackling on the interior but does not appear broken or repaired. The lid only shows some repaint and possible fill on approx. 1 1/2 in. of the PR side of the crescent band behind the head, from the ear upward.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This well-published blackware vessel from the Leff collection is a fine example of Early Classic iconography that references the three levels of the universe and the mythology of the creatures that tranverse these realms. The watery underworld, the surface of the middle world and the celestial upperworld can be accessed by ancestors, shaman and avians, such as this supernatural version of the cormorant. The exchanges between these realms kept the cycle of life, death and rebirth in balance.

The complex modeling of the protagonists on Early Classic lids allows for interpretations of whether these are masked figures, or embellished depictions of a zoomorphic creature. Such elaborate lids are seen with various base forms, including tripod and tetrapod legs, basal flanged and pedestal vessels. The interplay of modeling and incising enhances the dimensionality of the vessel. For a closely related example with a bird of this style, see Gallenkamp and Johnson, eds. (1985:113, cat. no. 26), for the vessel in the Brooklyn Museum collection (64.217a-b).