Pre-Columbian Folk Art

Pre-Columbian style , Hispaniola, Arawak Peoples, Taino Native Indians This is a finely carved Taino Cacique Chief's hand carved hard wood figure- a superb ancestor style ceremonial...

Two carved Mayan deity limestone architectural carvings or / elements, 19th century or older The larger measures 7" W x 5.5" H x 4.5" D with a 2.5" protrusion The smaller measures ...

An important large Pre-Columbian Colima gourd with parrots, Comala style Protoclassic, circa 100 BC, Ex Museum collection. This beautifully burnished redware fluted vessel depicts d...

Rare pre Hispanic Moche culture, pre-Inca earthenware vessel. A beautiful interesting piece, created in the southern Peru region around the 100-700 AD by the Moche culture. This rare early period...

Pre-Columbian Earthenware Female Figure, Nayarit, Mexico A tall standing nude female figure of the San Sebastian Red type. The expressive face is adorned with ear ornaments and a sh...

Accent size Persian Kilim from the late 20th century with a yellow lion featuring abstract elements with a gorilla face sitting on a black ground Measures: 4'2'' x 6'8'' This w...

Incan Kero Tumbler-shaped drinking vessel Period: 15th 16th Century Region: Peru Material: Wood Polychroming Finest in the world! Museum quality! Keros were used in Peru to consum...

Huaco with Ai Apaec Moche, Peru c. AD 200–800 Terracotta 22.5 cm high Condition: Good state of preservation. Provenance: Private collection of Remy Rey, London, United Kingdom....

PRESENTING a LOVELY piece of reproduction Native American Antiquity, namely, a Vintage Pre-Columbian Style Pottery Centerpiece. We are of the opinion that this was made circa the ea...

Pre-Columbian Terracotta Vessel, Colima, Western Mexico A classic shaman’s head vessel having a horn strapped onto the forehead with a slip-painted headband, coffee bean eyes, sharp...

Pre-Columbian Earthenware Incensario, El Chanal, Colima, Western Mexico A large incense burner/brazier depicting the rain god Tlaloc from the El Chanal area in Colima. This would be...

Stamps, or sellos, such as this one were common during the pre-Columbian period in Mesoamerica and most popular during the Formative Period that spanned the years between 1200-800 B....

Gold Quimbaya necklace with beads in the shape of six frogs of delicate and slender shape with a beautiful gold color and patina, very nice expression with two narrow lines on the ba...

A powerful hand-sculpted clay artwork representing a procession of human figures, each joined in a continuous rhythm of movement and unity. This piece reflects the essence of Mexican...

An important ancient Pre-Columbian Olmec civilization Hand-Carved Jade face Mask Pendant, 900-600 BC, ex-museum collection. This exceptional Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican carved jade m...

A pre-Columbian figural vessel from West Mexico Colima culture (circa 300BC-400AD). Made of molded clay, the stoneware vessel depicts a seated hunchback...

Seated couple, Jalisco, West Coast Mexico A domestic couple, with the man sitting cross-legged, holding a bowl that may have had a stick placed in the opening at the top, which appe...

Very colorful complete Nazca unku in multi-color camelid wool with lozenge diamond and zig-zag design patterns. The beautiful blue and light pink color makes this textile very unique...

Chimu brown gauze shirt with multiple red and white fringe lines forming V designs like the one around the neck, with very rarely seen sleeves and border fringe in the same material.

Bold color and dramatic design make this style a favorite among collectors of modern art. Excellent condition. Several minor holes are effectively backed with a compatible color, and...

Magnificent Pre-Columbian multi-color Chancay textile with animal figures in cubist form. The Chancay are known more for their textiles than for their ceramics. Textiles from elite Chancay tombs include elaborate gauzes, embroidery, painted plain weave and tapestry, and three-dimensional fibre...

A pre-Columbian ceramic stirrup vessel in Cupisnique style circa 700-500BCE. This ancient vessel features a robust squatted body and a short thick stirr...

Papagayo polychrome pottery bowl, Mandador variety. Round bottomed bowl rests on three animal headed rattle legs. Exterior painted wide band with two stylized plumed serpents of jagu...

Inca Complete Uncu of beautiful geometric composition with serpent form in red, purple and yellow. This beautiful poncho of a geometric composition has only some worn out sections on...

Yupanas were used as calculators or abaci during the Inca Period. This is one of the finest and monumental an example of a Inca table Royal Stone Yupana or...

Pre-Columbian ornamental banner with fringes composed of warriors/divinities holding figures in their hands, surrounded by geometric frets. Two-headed birds in alternating colors decorate the top and bottom of the banner. This one-of-a-kind tapestry has preserved its vibrant original colors and fibres. Professionally cleaned. Provenance: Private European Collection Textiles from elite Chimu tombs include elaborate gauzes, embroidery, painted plain weave and tapestry, and three-dimensional fibre sculptures. Among others, shades of yellow and brown, scarlet, white, lavender-blue and olive green were the colors used. Birds and a deity wearing a crescent-like headdress have been the most popular decorative motifs. Many Chimu textiles...

Earth tones adorn this striped pattern pre-Columbian textile. It is a wonder to behold antiquities such as a pre-Columbian textiles, an authentic piece of art that has been preserved for centuries and that survives generation after generation. Textiles are infinitely more delicate than wood, metal, or rock artifacts...

Natural pink tourmaline necklace (167 gms) with rare gold Veraguas/Diquis supernatural drummer. Very fine example of ancient, Precolumbian goldwork form Central America, either Costa Rica or Panama. 111 grams of blush pink gold made with “lost wax” technique. The music he plays is not for entertainment, but rather to create magic, casting a spell or summoning other supernatural beings. Healing was the most important function of shamans, both the mortal and the immortal kind. Such a magical pendant...

A rare, sheet silver human face mask with simple relief facial features including large, almond shaped eyes and downturned mouth. Classic stepped pyramid headdress with round, very t...

Inca Mantle with 16 figures in cubist form with multi-color fringes. This pieces with a Certificat de Bien Culturel from France. For the Incas finely worked and highly decorativ...

Pre-Columbian textile fragment with wave like patterns woven in bright colors. Framed in a black shadow box. It is a wonder to behold antiquities such as a pre-Columbian textiles, an authentic piece of art that has been preserved for centuries and that survives generation after generation. Textiles are infinitely more delicate than wood, metal, or rock artifacts - so the existence of these pieces after hundreds and thousands of years is exceptional. These textiles maintain their vibrant colors, natural threads, and their unique, historical designs. Provenance: This textile comes from the collection Ulrich Hoffmann, Stuttgart and former collection of the archaeologist Ferdinand Anton...

World's earliest known pyrography vessel, Nazca Culture , circa 400 AD This unique work of art is a hand-incised half gourd using an early pyrographic (pyrography) wood burned techn...

Nazca Tunic/Poncho of stepped design and fringe in yellow ocher, burgundy and brown. Perfect condition, museum quality.

Complete Pre-Columbian Nazca textile with stepped zig-zag design in yellow, ochre red, and brown/black shades with yellow fringes.

Complete Pre-Columbian Textile panel woven in plain weave with interlocking and alternating squares in bright shades, with elongated stepped diamonds, looped fringe on the short ends...

Complete Nazca Unku in vibrant red with blue, green, yellow and white squares forming V design around the brown neck opening. The multicolor squares in stepped design make a diamond ...

Impressive pre-columbian Lambayeque textile ceremonial panel. Lambayeque, Peru. Mint condition. Museum piece. Ex. Sotheby’s, New York. The Lambayeque civilization (aka Sicán) flou...

Brown Chancay coca bag with shamans and zoomorphic figures depicted in the centre on a in various colors on a red background. This piece is accompanied by ...

Magnificent Pre-Columbian Nazca Textile Poncho with a Geometric Step Design in Vibrant Ochre, Red, Green and Brown colors with its Original Fringes. Moun...

Impressive Nazca Cushma of checker works design composed of a red and yellow cross over the green background. A true collector's piece. Provenance: From the Collection of Guill...

Birmania polychrome pottery tripod bowl having hollow rattle, zoomorphic head type feet. Interior painted decoration probably depicts a stylized alligator ...

Chancay painted panel with two figurines side by side. This is a complete panel with two rectangular box-headed personages on a busily packed background of geometric motifs of circle...

Funerary Post with female figure Chimu, Peru, 1st Millennium AD. Wood Height 106 cm Provenance - Jean Pierre Cottier and Fiorella Cottier-Angeli Collection, Geneva, Switzerland. Acquired by Yossef Maiman between 2000 and 2008. - Private collection, Israel, until 2024. Condition Good state of preservation, no restorations. Published - ROSENZWIG, A.; WOLOSZYN, J. Z. Offerings for the Afterlife. Peruvian Pottery and Artifacts from the Maiman Collection. AMPAL/MERHAV Group of Companies. Israel. 2008. Fig. 102. Description Funerary pole topped by a female figure in the round, both carved from a single piece of wood. This type of object was used as a grave marker and was especially important in the desert areas of pre-Columbian Peru, as it made it possible to easily locate the burial site during funeral rituals or ancestor worship. Figurative funerary poles are rare among Chimú wooden statuary, although they share formal characteristics with the more common freestanding sculpture. The face is polychrome, predominantly a bright red pigment of cinnabar-colored resin. The figure is shown standing, with legs together and arms extended at both sides of the body, in a conventional, hieratic, and solemn posture. The figure is monolithic, although the main parts of the anatomy are perfectly differentiated, worked with a synthetic and geometric language. The obvious disproportion of the head, which is very large relative to the body, responds to a symbolic intention that probably alludes to the identity of the figure to whom the tomb belongs. The face is highly expressive in its synthesis, with almond-shaped eyes painted dark brown in contrast to the red of the face, framed by raised eyelids and nestled beneath eyebrows drawn with a fine beveled line. The nose is very prominent, completely flat, and with a curved profile, and the mouth stands out for its expression: open, deeply hollow, and framed by long nasolabial furrows worked in relief, which begin at the base of the nose and end at the chin, which protrudes slightly from the plane. The large ears, flat on the forehead and convex at the back, are decorated with an incised spiral design representing cartilage. The head ends in a gentle curve, probably representing a bonnet, which is painted in the same brown tone as the eyes. The body is depicted nude, with the breasts and pubis worked in flat relief, forming a formal interplay of inverted triangles. The joints of the arms and legs, as well as the fingers and toes, are clearly indicated, although without seeking naturalistic detail. A Chimú funerary pole is preserved in Princeton, also topped by a female figure, which displays significant similarities to the piece under study, both in posture, proportions, and overall composition, as well as in the polychromy and facial expression, with an open, hollow mouth. Wooden statuary is a little-known manifestation of Chimú art, given the few preserved examples due to Peru's climatic conditions. Although some have been found in the coastal deserts, thanks to their dry climate. In general, Chimú anthropomorphic sculptures follow a conventional model showing the figure standing frontally, with accentuated bilateral symmetry. These sculptures generally represent men, with female figures being much rarer, and they are rarely depicted clothed. In the few examples found with carved clothing, designs characteristic of the well-known Chimú textile art can be seen, as is the case with a funerary pole, also from Princeton, which includes animal figures on the sleeves of the tunic, and another auctioned in Paris in 2013, which displays a fringed profile and various geometric embroideries. The Chimú culture was born on the northern coast of Peru after the fall of the Huari Empire, around 1100 AD, and developed until approximately 1400. Although it is considered the heir of the Moche culture, Chimú mythology places the origin of its people in the arrival on the Peruvian coast of the fleet of Taycanamo, the mythical founder and first ruler of the kingdom, who would have combined political and priestly functions. Their territory, which once covered some 1,300 km, was centered in the Moche River valley and their capital was the great city of Chan Chan. Most of the territory is a very arid coastal desert, although it is crisscrossed by numerous rivers that bring water from the Andes, creating fertile valleys in their wake. Thanks to the use of enormous aqueducts and an extensive network of irrigation canals, the Chimú reclaimed large tracts of agricultural land from the desert, where they grew cotton and all kinds of foodstuffs. The territory of the Chimú kingdom was also crisscrossed by trade routes, which had their caravan center in Chan Chan and transported subsistence goods as well as luxury items. Many Chimú cults and rituals were oriented toward promoting fertility in the fields, given the aridity of the territory, and closely linked religion and politics. The main propitiatory rites for agricultural fertility were based on the veneration of the mummies of the ancestors of the reigning dynasty. Chimú artistic production includes featherwork, wood carving, textiles, and shell and hard stone work. Thanks to the influence of the neighboring Lambayeque people, who would eventually join the Chimú Empire, goldsmithing techniques were perfected for working with copper, silver, and gold. These techniques were used to create luxury objects such as vases, ear ornaments, and masks worn by the noble classes during ceremonial ceremonies. Chimú pottery...

A high karat heavy sheet gold human face mask with large almond-shaped eyes and recessed pierced pupils. Multiple small perforations along the upper and lower edges for attachment. L...

A large sheet gold mask depicting a stylized human face having an individually fashioned and applied nose. Large low relief repousse eyes and rectangular mou...

Hanging Jaguar Head. Mixteca, México c. 1200 - 1551 AD Length 5.5 cm, height 4 cm and width 3.5 cm. Condition Good condition, it has a blow on the right ear and a scratch on the ...

Beautiful Pre-columbian Mantle with a Central Kilim Type Tapisserie of Multicolor Designs with Priests Upraising their Arms Toward the Skies. It is surrounded by 2 Long Red Plain Cot...

Exceptional Banner of Pageantry with Multicolor Tapisserie Squares with 8 Weave Ornaments in Relief. On the inferior part the ornaments float with the wind. (2 are missing) Very good...

Anthropomorphic idol type M16 Mezcala, State of Guerrero, Mexico 350 - 100 BC Stone Height 20 cm and 24 cm with the stand. Condition Good state of preservation, no restorations....

An intact shirt with motif of rows of feathers in several shades of mustard yellow on a red ground, depicted as they would have been attached in rows in an actual feather textile.

Extremely detailed yellow embroidered Pre-Columbian textile fragment with hints of red from the Chancay culture in Peru. This piece is framed in a black shadowbox. It is a wonder to behold antiquities such as a Pre-Columbian textiles, an authentic piece of art that has been preserved for centuries and that survives generation after generation. Textiles are infinitely more delicate than wood, metal, or rock artifacts -- so the existence of these pieces after hundreds and thousands of years is exceptional. These textiles maintain their vibrant colors, natural threads, and their unique, historical designs. Provenance: This textile comes from the collection Ulrich Hoffmann, Stuttgart and former collection of the archaeologist Ferdinand Anton...

Magnificent Ceremonial Inca Tokapu of Multicolor Geometric Diamond Shapes. Tokapu were textiles worn by the Inca elite consisting of geometric figures enclosed by rectangles or squa...

This intriguing head fragment was once attached to a pre-Columbian bust or full effigy figurine. Earthenware figurines like this were made in great abundance throughout Mesoamerican history, serving a wide variety of purposes and functions from religious rituals to burial offerings. Figurines like this commemorated important people and events across Mesoamerica, portraying individuals of different rank and status such as soldiers, merchants, bureaucrats, and occasionally divinities. This figure is adorned with an elaborate headdress, or coiffure, and ear spools...

Chimu Painting with 3 Warriors. Part of a larger painting with 3 rectangles representing warriors with the characteristic Chimu Headdress. This one-of-a-kind painting is mounted and ...

Earth tones adorn this striped pattern pre-Columbian textile. These piece is mounted on a black shadowbox frame. It is a wonder to behold antiquities such as a pre-Columbian textiles, an authentic piece of art that has been preserved for centuries and that survives generation after generation. Textiles are infinitely more delicate than wood, metal, or rock artifacts -- so the existence of these pieces after hundreds and thousands of years is exceptional. These textiles maintain their vibrant colors, natural threads, and their unique, historical designs. Provenance: This textile comes from the collection Ulrich Hoffmann, Stuttgart and former collection of the archaeologist Ferdinand Anton...

Large, rectangular section of loosely woven cotton in an open, net pattern weave. Bears three complete selvedges and has 12 square sections, each containing a horned animal with curled tail surrounded by a meandering, geometric border. Excellent condition. Backed on black cotton. Kate Kemper, of London and Switzerland (1908-2004) was an early collector of Andean art, forming an important collection of ceramics and textiles after visiting Peru. Her comprehensive collection was formed in Europe and exhibited in various museums including Ancient Peruvian...

Complete Nazca unku with white, red, green, black and yellow step zig-zag design with red bottom with fringe and maroon upper part and beige trim around the arm and neck openings ...

Beautiful and Impressive Fragment of a Multicolor Banner with Ocher, Red and Purple with Geometric Designs with Birds and Mythic Creatures in Horizontal Bands. This piece is accomp...

A semi-ovoid rectangular panel with heavily fringed border having a very tightly woven multi-color geometric pattern consisting of two scroll devices containing multiple stylized zoo...

Pre Hispanic earth ware vessel from the pre-Inca Chimu culture. Beautiful ancient vessel, created in northern coast of Peru around the 900 / 1470 AD. by the Chimu culture. This is...