Pre-Columbian Spiked Vessel with Lid. Lizard / Toad. Incense Burner. Teotihuacan Pottery. Mexico.
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The Classic Period (300 to 900 AD) was a period marked by political, intellectual and urban development, monumental architecture and creative arts. Teotihuacan was one of these Mayan centers. Today the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon are located at Teotihuacan, 30 miles northeast of Mexico City.
Artwork and pottery flourished during this period.
This piece in brownish clay – with its spiked lid – is characteristic of incense burners of the time. Notice the lid vents through a round hole in the lid.
I am confident that the creature on the top is the horny toad / horned lizard indigenous to this area.
Acquired from a California USA collector who travelled extensively through Mexico, Guatemala, Peru and Ecuador in the mid-1900s. Other than that, I have little provenance on this piece so I am pricing it as a “Teotihuacan-styled” piece.
The condition is very good. There is some damage . . . some chipped spikes. I do not see any major cracks or structural issues.
For the Serious Collector.