THE EMPIRES OF LIGHT [IV] European Private Collections of Pre-Columbian Art

Mon 03 Apr 202315H00

EXTERIEURE HÔTEL DROUOT Salle 10

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Lot 2

*Baby face head

open mouth with feline lips, face with intense, indeterminate expression. Terracotta with cream slip, marks of time Olmec, Las Bocas, Mexico, Early...

Lot 3

*Nude standing figure

Her powerful, generous thighs evoke a concept of fertility. Her body is adorned with ceremonial paintings and her beautiful headdress is arranged with...

Lot 4

*Statuette

featuring a standing dignitary wearing a belt and sex cover, his body and face adorned with ceremonial paintings, and his shaved head adorned with an...

Lot 5

*Vase

decorated on the outer walls with incised glyphic decoration, probably symbolizing the claws of a mythical feline combined with raptor wings Brown...

Lot 6

*Cylindrical vase

with incised geometric motifs evoking the attributes of the Jaguar and Eagle gods, personified by claws and wings. The decoration on this vase is...

Lot 7

*Pinched edge cut

The outer rim is marked by an engraved line. This ceremonial bowl was probably used for drinking hallucinogenic potions. Earthenware with beige slip...

Lot 13

*Anthropomorphic vase

depicting a chubby human head with no lower jaw. The upper lip is thick. The nose is adorned with a pearl, its wings in relief and the nostrils are...

Lot 24

*Idole Ghost Figure

with the head sculpted in projection and the lower body evoking the folded wings of a stylized bird. Carved and polished hardstone (speckled beige...

Lot 25

*Anthropomorphic idol

with beautifully schematized, pure and stylized forms. She is presented standing on massive legs. Her gaze, cast in the shadows beneath the visor...

Lot 30

*Anthropomorphic idol

featuring a figure with powerful, rounded forms, his hands resting on his belly in a nurturing gesture and his face with a slightly wrathful...

Lot 32

*Anthropomorphic idol

depicting a seated crowned divinity, her arms symbolically crossed over her torso. The face is beautifully interiorized, with coffee-bean eyes and a...

Lot 33

\\\*Skull Pendant

The forehead is marked by an incision that escapes to the sides and runs towards the back of the skull. The round shape of the face is repeated in the...

Lot 34

*Powerful weaponry

carved with a stylized nocturnal bird of prey with beautiful naturalistic forms. Carved and polished hard stone (calcite, crystalline dolomitic) with...

Lot 35

*Ceremonial metate

representing a Jaguar The animal's stylized body serves as a quadrangular, concave tray, whose rim is decorated with engraved motifs. The head and...

Lot 37

*Venus

shown standing nude, her torso adorned with a wide sautoir necklace and a multi-row choker with circular amulets. She wears large tambas over her ears...

Lot 41

*Modelled and engraved vase

It shows a seated lord, wearing a spectacular crown of exotic bird feathers and semi-precious stone amulets. These rich ornaments testify to his...

Lot 46

\\\\\*Standing figure

one arm at his side and one of his forearms raised, his hands in a symbolic gesture. He wears a rectangular loincloth belt that falls elegantly over...

Lot 48

\\\\*Standing figure

wearing a headdress, vest and loincloth. The mouth is masked by a wide band that completes a helmet-shaped headdress decorated with an engraved grid...

Lot 54

*Ceremonial carina

model of a standing dignitary, richly dressed. Around his waist, he wears a protective belt used in the pelota game. His torso is covered with an...

Lot 59

\\\\*Ceremonial vase Codex

with a slightly flared rim, depicting four deities who are said to be responsible for the creation of the world. These four figures, depicted in...

Lot 60

*Codex ceremonial vessel

decorated with an animated scene showing a richly dressed dignitary seated on his throne in an agitated posture. In one hand, he holds the insignia of...

Lot 63

*Rare pair of statuettes

of seated twin sisters. They wear headdresses, one of which is adorned with a headband and a side ornament of small shells, tambas, necklaces and...

Lot 67

*Cutting

or ceremonial incense burner set on an openwork conical pedestal. It is beautifully decorated with broken lines, temple steps, concentric and...

Lot 69

*Shaman seated

her hands resting on her thighs as a sign of authority. His torso is adorned with a plant collar, the center of his forehead adorned with a central...

Lot 72

*Sculpture

depicting a standing nude woman holding a dish. The folds of the knees are marked and the feet roughly carved. The sex is visible. The shoulders are...

Lot 74

*Chaman seated

Magnificent seated shaman, his waist covered with a wide, incised belt. He wears a turtle-shell pendant on his chest. In one hand, he holds an...

Lot 79

\\\\*Anthropomorphic sculpture

depicting a standing figure, probably a shaman, placing his left hand on the head of a figure lying next to him, on all fours like a dog, as a sign of...

Lot 81

*Warrior

shown standing on powerful legs. He holds a large shield in one hand and a spear-mace in the other. His face displays a determined, hieratic...

Lot 83

*Sitting motherhood

holding her naked child on her thighs. Her hands are symbolically oversized. Her face displays a dynamic, attentive expression. The chest is adorned...

Lot 84

*Shaman standing warrior

body protected by circular armor. He holds a powerful club in his hands and wears a bicorne helmet. His face displays a youthful, vigorous and intense...

Lot 86

\\\*Ceremonial Drum

with two resonance drums to modulate the sounds of the ceremony. It is richly decorated with ideograms and motifs evoking the god of death, the sun, a...

Lot 87

*Large seated couple of dignitaries

The woman carries a receptacle on her shoulder, while the man holds a poporo in one hand and a lime spatula in the other, which he carries in his...

Lot 88

*Church ring

globular shape with a wide neck ending in flat lips. It is incised and modeled in relief with rich decoration, featuring spider monkeys with humanized...

Lot 90

*Face and back mask

It features the face of a shaman lord with a grimacing expression, under the effect of a tropanic alkaloid (coca leaves mixed with lime). The back has...

Lot 93

*Singing vase with double sides

One of them features an effigy of a figure with a skeletal face, his powerful hands crossed on his knees. He wears a poncho with a licia cape and a...

Lot 94

*Ceremonial respect

carved on the upper part with a divinity raising its hands to the sky in a symbolic gesture, and an openwork medallion with a stylized bird bearing...

Lot 96

*Totem

featuring a standing figure. Standing frontally on his base, our guardian adopts the frozen attitude typical of Chimú statuary. This conventional...

Lot 97

Charming little vase

with a neck modeled and painted with a shaman holding chili peppers in his hands, and behind with divinities with feline and aquatic features...

Lot 98

Kero

featuring an animated scene of combat, mythical snakes, Inca flowers, cacti, birds and various symbolic motifs. Painted wood, old patina and internal...

Lot 99

Kero

in the form of a vase on a circular foot presenting a lively battle scene with several warriors and dignitaries Painted wood, old brown patina and...

Lot 100

Superb Ocarina

masterfully modeled hummingbird in full flight, painted plumage and legs Polychrome terracotta, very good overall condition Proto Nazca, Peru, AD 100...

Lot 101

Singing vase

probably used as a musical instrument during ceremonies, it features a humanized animal with large ears. Orange and brown terra cotta, slightly broken...

Lot 102

Cuchimilco

shown standing nude, her hands, with atrophied arms, pointing skyward as a sign of appeal to the forces of nature or the divine. Her body is modeled...

Lot 103

Monkey head

carrying a tamarind fruit in her mouth Orange terracotta Maya, Mexico, Classic Period, AD 600-900 Height: 6.5 cm

Lot 104

Stirrup vase

with four undulating snakes Polychrome terracotta Mochica II, Peru, AD 100-300 21 x 12.8 cm Provenance: SVV Castor-Hara, sale 23/03/2016, lot n°249

Lot 105

Important and rare cult mask

It features the face of a dignitary in the prime of life, marked by meticulously engraved and balanced scarification marks covering the entire face...

Lot 106

Weaver's box

It features stylized monkeys and various motifs. Light polychrome wood. Chancay, Peru, 1100 to 1400 A.D. 12 x 31 x 10 cm

Lot 107

Weaver's box

It features stylized fish and various motifs. Light polychrome wood. Chancay, Peru, 1100 to 1400 A.D. 12 x 26 x 11 cm

Lot 108

Weaver's box

It features stylized birds and two sun masks on the lid. Light polychrome wood. Chancay, Peru, 1100 to 1400 A.D. 10 x 27 x 11.5 cm

Lot 109

Tapa-rabo element

in multicolored camelid threads decorated with interlocking stylized birds Chancay - Chimu, Peru, AD 1100-1400 72 x 45 cm Provenance: former Wagner...

Lot 110

Beautiful breastplate

staircase with checkerboard pattern and cruciform symbols Multicolored camelid threads in shimmering colors Huari, Peru, 700-1000 AD Frame size: 56 x...

Sale information

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 sculptures of callipygous goddesses in Olmec terracotta, beautiful Mezcala idols with stylized features from Guerrero, finely modeled shaman statues in Colima terracotta, Nayarit anthropomorphic sculptures, richly clad Ocarina statuettes from Veracruz, as well as superb pieces of goldsmithery from Colombia. The Maya world will be present with exceptional vases from the classical period. Objects from the Andean civilizations of Ecuador and Peru will also be on sale.