Did I get my first piece of pre-columbian pottery?

[silverdollarbill]

I see pre-columbian looking pottery all the time, but I never buy it because I assume its reproductions or just tourist stuff.

I found this today on top of a display case mixed in with a bunch of old copper. There were tables of jewelry and it was a feeding frenzy. People were literally crawling on the floor to sort what others had dropped. No one looked on top of the display case.

It's damage, dirty, and looks old and authentic, but I have no idea what it is. The motif on the side looks like a monkey.

Anyone have any sites to research stuff like this?

 

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[silverdollarbill]

Its really dirty and has been repaired.

 

[GoldieLocks]

Neat piece, alas I am not educated in this material.

 

[tamrock]

Boy I wouldn't have a clue, as I figured the odds are stacked against me when it comes to finding an authentic piece of ancient pre-columbian thing such as that. Hopefully you beat the odds and scored a real winner this time.

 

[Red-Coat]

Well, it looks good from where I sit. Perhaps Chimu or Moche? If he sees this thread, there is a guy who will know for sure (joshuaream). You might try sending him a PM and asking if he could kindly comment.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/members/15352.html

 

[joshuaream]

Cool piece. I think RedCoat is spot on. I'd go with something from Northern Peru based on the style. It's got a lot of Chimu elements, but also has a bit of a look like some of the pottery I've seen from Southern Ecuador.

It looks authentic to me.

 

[silverdollarbill]

Thank you Red-coat for the info and the recommendation!

Thanks Josh for the information.

It's stuff like this that makes me love this hobby. Let me know if you know any websites useful for doing research on this kind of stuff.

thx bill

 

[silverdollarbill]

Based on info share, I found this one, which is listed as Chimu. I think it looks similar.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/10353773_146-pre-columbian-figural-chimu-pottery-vessel

 

[silverdollarbill]

Here are is the information Joshua shared to research stuff like this. (He said it was ok to share here)

The first is liveauctioneers.com, search for Chimu and then price results. If you don't select price results you might only see a couple of examples, but if you go for results you'll often see thousands of examples going back many years. If you have an account (free to set up) you can see what items sold for, but if not you can still see thousands of pictures and look for something similar. I'd pay attention to the shape of the vessel, that lug handle at the top, the textured panels on the side of the vessel, and the features of the face.

Another site I use is Barakat Galleries. This link will take you to their Peru section. http://store.barakatgallery.com/prod...n/art-of-peru/ But if the link doesn't work just google Barakat, go to their ancient art, Pre-columbian, Peru pages. You could also look at their Ecuador pages. You'll see some common "dna" with pieces from the Moche, the Chimu, and maybe the Manta and other groups in Ecuador. Occasionally you'll find an identical match, but often you have to settle for close enough if a piece seems to fit two or more styles.

I will offer you a word of caution on Barakat Galleries, their pricing is absolutely crazy and not really representative of what a piece like yours might be worth to a collector. Some Pre-Columbian items have great documentation that predate any import restrictions, and those pieces are worth significantly more than similar pieces with less history. It's an artificial market because it's so small. If you are interested in pricing, I think LiveAuctioneers is a better reference because these are more common pieces that have sold to collectors.

 

[A2coins]

That's absolutely amazing looking I hope it is. Great display piece for sure

 

[Buchsy]

I collect the stuff - mostly Mexican and Central American so I'm not so familiar with this culture. However, some things point to this being real - the repair, the finish, texture and appearance. Other characteristics to check are weight (thin/thick walled), balance (uniform or irregular construction) and the odor of the inside - if it smells musty/stinky it's probably real, if it isn't it's more likely to be a modern copy. This isn't an authoritative test, but one of a number that all have to be taken into account in determining authenticity. The fakes are getting better and better all the time with this, but the odor on the inside of a real antiquity is something that is difficult to replicate, even when a repro is buried in the dirt for a while.