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87
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Large dish with a vulture in flight
Polychrome terracotta on…
See original version (French)
87
-
Large dish with a vulture in flight
Polychrome terracotta on…
See original version (French)
Estimate €1,000 - €2,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Large dish with a vulture in flight
Polychrome terracotta on orange background, broken and glued, small chips and marks of age.
Maya, Mexico or Guatemala, Classic period, AD 600-900
32.5 × 8.2 cm
Provenance: Professor Urs Eppenberger, December 1997
German private collection
The vulture occupies an important place in the Maya pantheon: it is often associated with celestial divinities or ambivalent cosmic forces, both purifying and predatory. A symbol of the daytime sky or cosmic order, it also embodies the cycle of transformation and regeneration, between death and rebirth. Its representation in full flight, in the centre of the dish, evokes a sovereign, transcendent force, part of a ritual dynamic. This type of dish was probably used for ceremonial purposes, perhaps for offerings or the presentation of sacred foods at elite banquets.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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