- 79
Large Maya Stone Zoomorphic Metate, North Coastal Honduran region Early Classic, ca. A.D. 250-450
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 USD
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Description
- stone
- Length of metate: 42 in ( 106.7 cm), length of mano 25 1/2 in (64.7 cm)
the massive platform carved with a supernatural head of a reptile with tongue scrolling up from the open toothy snout, with fierce recessed eyes and graceful scrolling jaw, supported on short rectangular legs, together with a plain oblong mano; each in dense volcanic stone.
Provenance
Jay C. Leff Collection, acquired prior to 1966
Sotheby's, New York, October 10 and 11, 1975, lot 300, consigned by the above
British Rail Pension Trust, London
Constance Kamens, New York
Sotheby's, New York, May 14, 1991, lot 118, consigned by the above
Sotheby's, New York, October 10 and 11, 1975, lot 300, consigned by the above
British Rail Pension Trust, London
Constance Kamens, New York
Sotheby's, New York, May 14, 1991, lot 118, consigned by the above
Exhibited
New York, Ancient Art of Latin America, from the Collection of Jay C. Leff, The Brooklyn Museum, November 22, 1966-March 5, 1967
Literature
Elizabeth Kennedy Easby, Ancient Art of Latin America, from the Collection of Jay C. Leff, The Brooklyn Museum, 1966, no. 485 (not illustrated)
Catalogue Note
Metates from the southern Maya region from the Comayagua area of Honduras, are distinctive from the nearby Costa Rican styles. As well-illustrated on this example, the plain grinding platform contrasts to the elaborate carving of the supernatural reptile's head, showing an ominous curling tongue and snarling mouth. For related works, see Doris Stone, The Archaeology of Central and Southern Honduras, Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, vol. 49 (3), Harvard University, 1957, fig. 43a, b and d.