Pre-Columbian, Mixtec / Mixteca-Puebla Type Valley of Puebla, Northern Oaxaca Region, Mexico, Post Classic period, ca. 1100-1400 AD. Tall double cup / goblet in red terracotta with cream slip, red, orange and black-brown paint. Lovely manganese blooms and deposits inside and out.
NOTE: It has been suggested that this type of chalice form vessel was used to catch blood offerings from sacrificial victims. This double cup vessel has a solid section in the middle separating the chamber at the top from the chamber at the bottom allowing the cup to be flipped over and used from the other end. The coloration, theme and painting style very closely resemble the page of a Mixtec Codex. A very rare type, not to be confused with more popular 'CHOLULA' polychrome wares.

Stands 9-1/4"H, in overall fine condition with several losses along top rim lip, several stabilized stress cracks, plus minor wear/loss, as shown.

ProvenanceEx-Raphael Moses Collection, associated with the Rocky Mountain Institute of Pre-Columbian Studies since the 1970s.

Antiquities
Ancient Central America & Mexico