Incan Sun God Vessel. Terracotta Inti Pre-Columbian Historic Art Sculpture Peru

MUSEUM PERFECTION ! AZTEC INFLUENCED LATIN AMERICAN COLONIAL ART AMAZINGLY RARE PIECE ! Approx. 14" x 8" x 2 1/2" After Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec empire, painting and sculpture schools were set up within missions to produce art for Roman Catholic worship in Spanish America to promote Christian evangelization. The works that emerge from this period are great historic treasures and tell us much about this time in history. Icons were important in this conversion process. Here is an Imagene that was likely employed in a church from the 17th century. It features 5 elaborately carved faces and figures depicting angels and saints. This piece is magnificent for many reasons, but the most important reason is that this piece illustrates the bridge between the Spanish and Aztec art schools. The Aztecs had developed the most splendid feather art in the world. Feather mosaics (arte plumario in Spanish, amantecayotl in Nahuatl), were created by specially trained and talented Aztec nobles. The blue green iridescent color of hummingbird feathers had made them a regular form of tribute to Aztec rulers and art that featured these feathers were incomparable. The Spanish art instructors adopted feathers into traditional Catholic imagery and this piece shows the result of such hybrid. Here feathers are prominently sculpted into the background and were polychromed with sensational hues to reflect the native love and cultural appreciation for feather art. Few feather mosaics survive because of their temporal frailty, but the wood worked feathers in this piece give scholars and collectors a lasting indication of how Aztecs stylistically used the feathers in their pieces. Aztec religious leaders wore headdresses and garments made of feathers - and here these saints appear to be wearing feather headdresses! Even after centuries, the colors of this piece are incredibly compelling. Fragments of the rich blue green pigment that was applied to mimic the hummingbird feathers are still present. The golds, yellows and browns display spectacular understanding of complementary colors. What's more this piece also shows Aztec sun imagery incorporated into the design! On the reverse side of the Saints' faces we see a vivid blue sun burst type design which clearly was an Aztec motif of the period and has no comparable counterpart in Catholic holy treasures...

CIVIL  RIGHTS ART! "INTEGRATION" IMPORTANT ORIGINAL ABSTRACT CUBIST PAINTING  BY  S. JEROME ( Approx. 13" By  24" ) O I L   O N   B O A R D 1961 Art serves a variety of pur...

MAGNIFICENT & RARE! WOMAN IN CANOE POLYCHROMED SCULPTURE AND ACCENT LAMP SIGNED S. MELANI ARNOVA DIMENSIONS: Approx. 21" Wide x 14" Tall x 6" Deep In 1925, France held the "Ex...

MAGNIFICENT! MING DYNASTY BRONZE LION INCENSE BURNER! EXTREMELY RARE! APPROXIMATE DIMENSIONS: 7" Tall x 7" Wide A BRONZE BUDDHIST LION MING DYNASTY Well cast, standing on all fo...

Stunning! Mid Century Modern Abstract Giraffe Sculpture Hand Carved & Polychromed 20" Tall Circa 1959 This delightful abstract giraffe sculpture is a very unusual work of art. Vi...

MAGNIFICENT HORSE HEAD PLASTER SCULPTURE! BOLD! BOLD! BOLD! SUPERB DETAILS! In the Manner of Charles Marion Russell (DIMENSIONS: Approx. 13" x 5" x 16" ) CIRCA 1960s This m...

Pre-Columbian Art, New York: Phaidon Publishers, Inc., 1957. First edition hardcover with skip case. 285 pp. A vintage book cataloguing Robert Woods Blis...

Pre-Columbian Art of South America by Alan Lapiner. 1st Edition, 1st publication. Published by Abrams, New York, 1976. New York, Abrams, 1976. Large qu...

Pre-Columbian Art of Mexico and Central America by Hasso Von Winning. Published by Abrams, New York, 1968. First edition. First major study to elevate t...

A group of seven Sotheby's New York Pre-Columbian sales catalogs with lavish color photos. An invaluable reference for the collector, scholar or anyone interested in Pre-Columbian a...

A fragment of antique Peruvian textile from Pre-Columbia era, nicely displayed in a matted metal frame. Likely from Chancay culture in Centra...

This rare Pre-Columbian vessel from the ancient Diquís culture of present-day Costa Rica possesses the features of a bird. The three-pegged jar was a common type of burial vessel, me...