THE EMPIRES OF LIGHT [III] Three European private collections

The richness, beauty, mysteries and technique of Pre-Columbian art continue to inspire admiration. The Millon auction house is offering an original selection of fine pieces from representative collections of this timelessly fascinating art. Several important pieces from major European private collections collected in the 1970s will be offered for sale at the Hôtel des Ventes Drouot, along with around a hundred cult works from the Americas focusing on the various pre-Columbian cultures. The peoples and cultures of Mexico will feature in this sale, notably through Olmec terracotta sculptures of callipygous goddesses, beautiful Mezcala idols with stylized features from Guerrero, Colima terracotta Shaman statues modeled with great finesse, Nayarit anthropomorphic sculptures, richly clad Ocarina statuettes from Veracruz, as well as superb pieces of goldsmithery from Colombia. The mysterious city of Teotihuacán will be represented by an important cult mask featuring the face of a lord with a hieratic, vigorous expression. The Maya world will be present with an exceptional vase from the Classical period whose extraordinary qualitý and raritý of glyph representation have enabled scientists to elucidate sequences of writing offering better understandings of the scenes depicted. Objects from the Andean civilizations of Ecuador and Peru will be on sale, such as the beautiful anthropozoomorphic Chavin vases recognizable by their feline features. Finally, a magnificent monumental sculpture of a warrior dignitary in volcanic stone from periods V and VI will be on offer, one of the largest figurative sculptures created by artists from northeastern Costa Rica.