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Pre-Columbian Art :
Mayan Poison Bottles : Mayan Poison Bottle
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Mayan Poison Bottle - PF.6190
Origin: El Salvador
Circa: 300
AD
to 900
AD
Dimensions:
3.375" (8.6cm) high
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
$5,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
It is impossible to overestimate the importance
ritual and ceremony had on Maya society. To
perform a sacred rite was the re-enactment of
procedure and method in an exact sequence
choreographed precisely as an exquisite dance.
Music, language and art played a crucial role in
presenting a visual and audible structure within
which the gods could communicate with mortals;
and if successful, everyone could experience a
transcendent moment of reality. This principal
applies to any context where ritual is precisely
followed, including matters that touch only one
individual at a time. The joy of discovering such
gems as this lovely flask is that it brings us into
direct contact with an esoteric symbolism that is,
nonetheless, very human and exciting.
A scene, repeated twice, representing a seated
figure decorates the front and back of this
vessel. Perhaps a deity, possibly a shaman or
elite ruler, this figure wears a feathered
headdress. Known as poison bottles, a flask
such as this one may have contained powdered
pigments, possible cinnabar, or other materials
such as copal incense. If so, then it might have
belonged to a painter. In fact, its size and shape
is quite similar to containers of copal oil used by
artists today. The inscribed scene constitutes a
vital part of the effectiveness of the liquid held
within. Art as language could attract power
through ritual and influence material things. A
simple object thereby becomes something
extraordinary, imbued with magic and
otherworldly mystery used for the heavenly
pursuit of painting.
- (PF.6190)
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