Maya Lidded Jaguar Effigy Vessel Early Classic, circa AD 250 - 450

Robert and Marianne Huber, Dixon
Joyce Strauss, Denver, active from the mid-1960s through the 1980s
Merrin Gallery, New York
American Private Collection, acquired from the above in 1989

The small effigy vessel is modeled as a powerful and readied feline with tensed muscles, bulging eyes, and a snarling mouth. Covered in a lustrous brownish red slip, his head is turned sharply on the formidable curving neck; the small lid covers the center of the feline's back and is pierced on each end to attach it to the corresponding holes on the vessel.  This portable, dynamic vessel was likely a container for a sacred substance; it is a more unusual and fine example of the Early Classic tradition of effigy vessels.