DescriptionZapotec Urn of a Standing Figure, Monte Alban IIIB, Late Classic, circa AD 550 - 950
Height: 26 ½ in (67.3 cm)Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact paul.lewis@sothebys.com ProvenanceJulius Carlebach, New YorkCedric H. and Theresa "Daisy" Marks, New York, acquired from the aboveSotheby's, New York, May 17, 2002, lot 264, consigned by the aboveSotheby's, New York, May 15, 2003, lot 309, reconsigned by the aboveAcquired at the above auction
Catalogue noteThe Zapotec region of the southern Mexican Highlands developed a distinct ceramic style best known for the elaborate figural urns placed in niches in temple compounds, each heavily adorned with ceremonial accoutrements nearly masking the figure itself. The standing figure is a rarer figural urn type as most are of seated figures, but both forms are made with the cylindrical urn at the back.
On the Lazar figure, the refined and idealized face stares boldly from the pierced eyes, with graceful lips parted showing filed teeth. The body is completely covered by the stiff and undulating skirt and short cape with added crescentic bands on the shoulders. The figure is presenting a rectangular plaque with both hands, a distinct element of this sculpture. Similar figural urns in museum collections include the Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the Musée de l'Homme, Paris, and have been identified as depictions of the deity Xipe Totec, who symbolized renewal and regeneration. The scalloped skirt and fanned or crenellated headdress elements are characteristic of sculptures of this deity.
For the type see Frank H. Boos, The Ceramic Sculptures of Ancient Oaxaca, New York, 1966, p. 153, fig. 138, p. 154, fig. 139, and p. 156, fig. 141. See also Alfonso Casa and Ignacio Bernal, Urnas de Oaxaca, Mexico, 1952, p. 256, fig. 406.
DescriptionZapotec Urn of a Standing Figure, Monte Alban IIIB, Late Classic, circa AD 550 - 950
Height: 26 ½ in (67.3 cm)Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact paul.lewis@sothebys.com ProvenanceJulius Carlebach, New YorkCedric H. and Theresa "Daisy" Marks, New York, acquired from the aboveSotheby's, New York, May 17, 2002, lot 264, consigned by the aboveSotheby's, New York, May 15, 2003, lot 309, reconsigned by the aboveAcquired at the above auction
Catalogue noteThe Zapotec region of the southern Mexican Highlands developed a distinct ceramic style best known for the elaborate figural urns placed in niches in temple compounds, each heavily adorned with ceremonial accoutrements nearly masking the figure itself. The standing figure is a rarer figural urn type as most are of seated figures, but both forms are made with the cylindrical urn at the back.
On the Lazar figure, the refined and idealized face stares boldly from the pierced eyes, with graceful lips parted showing filed teeth. The body is completely covered by the stiff and undulating skirt and short cape with added crescentic bands on the shoulders. The figure is presenting a rectangular plaque with both hands, a distinct element of this sculpture. Similar figural urns in museum collections include the Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig, the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, and the Musée de l'Homme, Paris, and have been identified as depictions of the deity Xipe Totec, who symbolized renewal and regeneration. The scalloped skirt and fanned or crenellated headdress elements are characteristic of sculptures of this deity.
For the type see Frank H. Boos, The Ceramic Sculptures of Ancient Oaxaca, New York, 1966, p. 153, fig. 138, p. 154, fig. 139, and p. 156, fig. 141. See also Alfonso Casa and Ignacio Bernal, Urnas de Oaxaca, Mexico, 1952, p. 256, fig. 406.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
