Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Tripod Terracotta Vessel. Clay-based, non-vitreous ceramic vessel in the classic porous reddish-brown color from archaic firing at relatively low temperatures. Rounded body with a pronounced lip, small mole-like protrusions near the mouth integrated with the darker pigment decorations on the upper hemisphere, raised on three pronounced legs. Tripod legs were most commonly associated with the Mayan and Teotihuacan cultures, making this piece likely from between the 4th and 12th Century A.D. 

Condition: Very good. Commensurate with age. 

Size: 7 x 7 x 6 in. 

#5848 . 

Mesoamerican cultures began producing ceramics in the form of small, handmade figurines by roughly 2500 B.C. The oldest surviving pottery was found in an archaeological site dated to around 1500 B.C. called San Jose Mogote, used by the Zapotec in what is now the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Archaeological and ethnohistoric evidence indicates that figurines served different purposes depending upon the region and the setting, but the use and style of pottery became practically ubiquitous, with shapes shared between cultures frequently as trade, conquest, and migrations led to massive cultural shifts between the 1st Millenniums B.C. and A.D. The easiest way to distinguish types of pre-Columbian pottery is by examining the decorations and features that were painted, carved, or applied to the surface, although many similar geometric patterns and idols propagated between the major tribes of the region for thousands of years. The usage of pottery, first primarily for ritual, inevitably became more and more common out of necessity, and most later pieces that were not part of ruling class collections were utilitarian and significantly less ostentatious. Ironically, these pieces have taught archaeologists more about these cultures than almost any other surviving items, as they offer insights into the diet, environment, and beliefs of the common people in ways that have been lost due to the destruction of artifacts as well as both physical and oral records in the wake of the Spanish Invasion and subsequent die-offs from European-brought plagues.

Very good. Commensurate with age.