Can anyone help me identify Pre Columbian antiques I have?

Originally posted by favouriteslave
Byrd the first pic was identified by a collector interested in the piece as a zoomorphic aligator vessel.

Yeah, but I doubt his interpretation ( however I could be wrong!) It's not stylistically similar to the Diqui pottery I've seen or to interpretations of crocodillians from that area. The crocodile face is a popular motif on "El Grande Chaman", but that's not a typical zoomorph piece from the area. That's why I think it was a trade piece that came from somewhere else.

BUT... I can be wrong. I'm no expert. Let us know what the museum has to say, and do check out that one site I mentioned previously.

They're nice little pots -- you don't often find intact ones.

Originally posted by hinky
I have a problem with anyone stealing artifacts from a site and then trying to make a financial gain from the theft. Inheriting them does remove the tarnish of the crime.

Me too... but it appears they were obtained legally (in the 1960's there were no such laws). Poor farmers who would find these things in their fields would sell them to tourists and collectors and everyone went home happy -- the peasant with money and the collector with a piece of art.

It wasn't until recently that states and governments and aboriginal people called a halt to this, realizing that much of their history was being lost to them. Egypt's taken a very hard line on this lately. I'm fortunate to have a few Bast amulets and an ushabti that I bought from an archaeologist -- but these days I wouldn't be allowed to purchase them in Egypt.

As to the laws back then we were able to bring them through customs in 1976 and I think my uncle collected them many many years before my mother and I came along.

Byrd, I'll update you if I get anywhere with the museum. Ive sent a query to the editor of that site 2 times with no reply and Ive still had no reply from the Museo Del Costa Rica or Jade Museum. So I'll just sit on it and wait until I get some info. Someone, somewhere has to be able to help me. Also check out what they call Bueno Aires Polychrome, it looks like that first pic that you say may be a trade item. Thats what I thought it was until the other person suggested it was an aligator. I just don't see aligator when I look at it.