- 112
Maya Stone Bird Hacha with Bound Beak Late Classic, ca. A.D. 550 - 950
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 USD
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Description
- stone
- Height: 9 1/2 in (24.2 cm)
the head of a king vulture of thin section with short curved beak pierced at the tip and constricted at the center, and large sunken circular eyes, the squared tenon covered with remains of red pigment.
Provenance
Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York
Stendahl Gallery, (Sotheby's, New York, May 16, 1995, lot 173)
Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York
Marion and Mark Lynton, acquired from the above in 1996
Stendahl Gallery, (Sotheby's, New York, May 16, 1995, lot 173)
Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York
Marion and Mark Lynton, acquired from the above in 1996
Literature
Edwin M. Shook and Elayne Marquis, Secrets in Stone: Yokes, Hachas and Palmas from Southern Mesoamerica, 1996, pg. 91, BP21
Catalogue Note
Birds of prey are an important category of the avian hachas, representing predatory and powerful vultures, eagles, and horned owls. The proud and animated face may represent a captured bird with his beak secured and bound.