Two Veracruz Miniature Ceramic Heads, Skull and Bat with Bitumen Eyes

拍品描述

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, ca. 500–800 CE. A pair of miniature hollow ceramic heads, perhaps small masks, one shaped as a human skull and the other as a bat. The skull is a rounded cranium with deep orbits filled with glossy black bitumen. It has a gaping nasal cavity and a lipless grin of incised teeth, and small holes pierce each side. The bat has a looser, more playful character. Its broad ears are edged with fine radiating incisions, a hatched ruff frames the jaw, and bitumen-painted eyes bulge above a wrinkled snout. Its open mouth bares small teeth and lets a long tongue loll over the chin. Both heads are open at the back and have lateral holes. This suggests they may once have been attached to or worn by larger articulated figures, possibly warriors or shamans. In Mesoamerica, skulls and bats were both closely linked with death, sacrifice, and the underworld. Size (skull): 3" H x 2.9" Diam (7.6 cm H x 7.4 cm Diam); (bat): 2.2" H x 3.25" W (5.6 cm H x 8.3 cm W). Along the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, natural asphalt seeps provided bitumen, known locally as chapopote. Potters used it as a glossy black paint applied after firing, often to pick out eyes, headdresses, and body markings on terracotta figures. Because it was added after firing, the black reads as raised and tarry, sitting on top of the clay rather than fused into it. The bat had a lasting place in Mesoamerican thought as a creature of night, caves, and blood. In the Maya Popol Vuh, the Hero Twins have to survive a night in the House of Bats, where the killer bat Camazotz takes the head of one of them. Skull imagery, for its part, runs throughout Gulf Coast ceramics and recalls trophy heads taken from captives and sacrificial victims. SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700. PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception. Item #205584

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