Cocle, Panama, Terracotta Big decorated jar PUBLISHED 33,5 cm H. 800 - 1200 AD. Spanish Export License

Big decorated jar with fish faces

- PUBLISHED - NICE COLORS -

Cocle, Panama, 800 - 1200 AD.

Terracotta and pigments

29,5 cm height and 33,5 cm diameter.

Provenance:
- Private collection, France.
- Loudmer Comissaires Priseurs S.C.P., Art Precolombien Collection d'un Amateur. Paris Drouot, 18 March 1995. Lot 182.
- Private collection, J. R. (1928 - 2013) Barcelona, formed since 1950 until 2000. Thence by descendent.

PUBLISHED:
- Catalogue; Loudmer Comissaires Priseurs S.C.P., Art Precolombien Collection d'un Amateur. Paris Drouot, 18 March 1995. Lot 182.

Condition: Good intact, only loss part of the painted decoration in some points, see photos.

Documents: With Spanish Export license.

This culture emerged in what is now the Panamanian province of Coclé, near the Santa Marta River. The region is warm and humid, with clearly defined seasons. Its landscape includes valleys suitable for agriculture as well as rivers, and woodlands. It is populated by a wide variety of fauna including deer, jaguars, peccaries, coatis, armadillos, and reptiles such as snakes and tortoises, particularly near the coast.

Coclé artwork is representative of Panamanian polychromatic styles, in which pigments are baked onto artifacts to give them a variety of colors such as white, black, brown, dark red, light red, and purple, sometimes all of them in a single piece. They painted zoomorphic and stylized designs onto their ceramic pieces, and their vessels included small bowls, elongated beakers, carafes, and plates with ring-shaped or pedestal bases. Some Coclé vessels are decorated with images of tortoises, birds, and snakes—sometimes snakes with feathers—while others include effigies with faces, humped backs, and masks. Other items found often include ceramic rattles. Another feature of Coclé decorative style is the use of black on white pigment, with motifs in the form of the letters Y, V, or T near the edges of vessels. In ceremonial pieces, these shapes are applied in red. Another unique design in this ceramic tradition is the so-called Ala de Coclé, the Coclé Wing. At the site of El Caño, several columnar stone statues covered with zoomorphic designs have been found, as well as some with anthropomorphic designs in relief. The site has been interpreted as a temple, as it also features a central altar that is also decorated with zoomorphic forms.

Other stone artifacts often ascribed to the Coclé culture include maize grinding stones carved with zoomorphic figures, generally feline and sometimes very large. These stones stand on four legs, and their finely worked craftsmanship suggests that they were not for domestic use. Some have been found with highly polished cylindrical grinding stones. Other grinders ascribed to the Coclé have zoomorphic motifs on their handles, made of semi-precious stones. These may have been used for grinding pigments or some other substance used in rituals. The Coclé people also made earrings from agate and serpentine, and they used rough quartz to make beads that were set in gold artifacts. Gold pieces associated with this culture show local styles and motifs related to regional chieftains.

One of the most important Coclé sites is Conte, a cemetery used by this culture during its second phase of occupation. Some of the tombs at the site are unique, holding multiple bodies. Inside each of these lie the remains of a high ranking individual or chief accompanied by a large quantity of gold grave goods; with this person are two warriors, subordinate chiefs, or other individuals of rank, accompanied by gold plates; as well as up to eight servants or slaves, all adult males, accompanied with artifacts of lesser value. The accompanying individuals may have been sacrificed following the death of a leader, a practice that was observed by the Spanish who arrived in the region in the 16th Century. Some Spanish chronicles report that when a cacique died, his servants and family members would go with him to the grave, along with any of his wives who wished to do so.


Notes:
- The piece includes authenticity certificate.
- The piece includes Spanish Export License (Passport for European Union). NOT TAXES.
- According to Spanish legislation, items sent outside the European Union are subject to export taxes and will be added to the invoice, at the buyer's expense. These export fees are fixed on the final auction price and the tax rate is not applied directly on the total value of the item to be exported, but rather the different percentages by sections are applied to it:
- Up to 6,000 euros: 5%.
- From 6,001 to 60,000 euros: 10%.
This export permit application process can take between 1-2 months maximum.
- The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
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