Provenance Information

(Spencer Throckmorton Fine Art), New York; purchased by Frederick R. [1928-2007] and Jan Mayer, Denver, CO., October 1984 [1]; Gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2017
[1] On loan to the Denver Art Museum, starting 1993

Exhibition Information

"Colorado Collects." Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, August 17-October 6, 1985; On display in Museum's Pre-Columbian Galleries, 1993-1998 and 2005 - 2017

Publication Information

Canouts, Veletta, and Juan Vicente Guerrero. Vallejo and Jicote Ceramic Codes: The Case for Stylistic Analogy in the Late Polychrome Period. In "Costa Rican Art and Archaeology: Essays in Honor of Frederick R. Mayer," edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp.215-259. University of Colorado, Boulder. 1988., Day, Jane Stevenson. Las Figuras Femeninas de la Gran Nicoya. Vinculos 21:29-42.. San Jose: Universidad de Costa Rica. 1997., Lange, Frederick W. , ed. Ancient Treasures of Costa Rica: Art and Archaeology of the Rich Coast. Johnson Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado. 1990., Lange, Frederick W. The Search for Elite Personages and Site Hierarchies in Greater Nicoya. In "Wealth and Hierarchy in the Intermediate Area," edited by Frederick W. Lange, pp. 109-140. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks. 1992., Stone, Rebecca R. The Jaguar Within: Shamanic Trance in Ancient Central and South America. University of Texas Press, Austin. 2011.

Section of the AAMD Guidelines relied upon for the exception to 1970

Gift or bequest expected or on loan prior to 2008

Explain why the object fits the exception set forth above

The Mayer collection of Costa Rican art distinguishes itself from other national and international collections for the depth and breadth of cultural and artistic styles represented therein. Assembled beginning in 1966, the objects represent the developmental arc of Costa Rican ceramics, metallurgy and stone carving and stands as the most comprehensive collection of Central American material culture outside of the region. Mr. and Mrs. Mayer began lending works in this gift to the Denver Art Museum in 1992 and since loan of this work in 1993, it has been on continuous display until 2017 in the Art of the Ancient Americas galleries. This gift complements the collection of Costa Rican material, also gifted by Mr. and Mrs. Mayer with the express purpose that the objects remain together in order for scholars to appreciate fully the development of Central American art, allow work to be put in the public domain, and facilitate further research.