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Lot 2017

Metate Stone Flying Panel, Costa Rica

Sold June 27, 2025

Price realized
$1,500
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Price realized is the winning bid (hammer price) and excludes buyer’s premium.

About this lot

Estimated Value: $ 5,000-7,500

Origin: Costa Rica, Guanacaste, or Nicoya Peninsula, Pre-Columbian 1000-1250 AD 

Dimensions: 10x21x12in

Condition: There is a line of color difference along the top and around the edge to the under side. 

Additional Information: A Metate flying panel stone grinder with carved tripod legs and a carved zoomorphic figure of a leopard or other wild cat. The panel is curved and carved with geometric designs.  The metate was owned by chiefs showing his control over labor and agricultural surplus. Themes can vary and be complex representing fertility and renewal. 

Flying panel metates are unique Costa Rican stone sculptures featuring a scenic panel beneath the grinding surface, often used for ceremonial purposes. These objects are considered highly elaborate and symbolic,reflecting themes of transformation, burial rituals, and elite status. 

Metate’s are displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of art.

Reportedly the provenance is John Buxton (of Antiques Roadshow) Dallas, Tx.

Lot details

Lot
2017
Closed
June 27, 2025
Sold $1,500
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