Pre-Columbian Chiriqui Pottery Tripod Vessel with Monkey Legs

Panama Circa 800 to 1250 AD Ritual terracotta vessel with rounded base and loop handles and applied clay fillets standing on three long hollow legs, each leg in the form of a standing monkey and each containing a rattling ball.  Buff clay, burnished and brown slip painted.   Size 6.5 inches height, 7 inches at widest, 5.5 inches diameter of vessel Provenance: From the estate of Dr. William K. Emerson (1925 – 2016), NYC.  Dr Emerson was Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History for four decades. Bill got his PhD at UC Berkeley before moving to NYC in 1955. Over a distinguished career he discovered and classified more than 100 species of mollusks on numerous voyages into the Pacific, published six books and 100 plus articles. Bill retired in 1995 as Chair of the Department of Invertebrates. He was an avid collector of pre-Columbian art throughout the 60s and 70s.