Art in the Office
Lou is a collector of art, antique maps of Bohemia and Moravia and Pre-Columbian South and Central American artifacts. Some of his collection of over 800 unique maps and engravings dating back to the 15th century and artifacts as old as 3,000 years are on display at his office.
Click on an image to see a larger version. Click on the title of an image for its complete description.
Untitled, Young Dancer
Artist Keegan Starlight. Acrylic on canvas. Painted in 2016. Lou purchased this painting from an auction in 2016. The artist, Keegan Starlight, is from the TsuuT’ina nation located 10 minutes outside of Calgary Alberta. More info on Keegan can be seen here https://rawartists.com/keeganstarlight">ttps://rawartists.com/keeganstarlight
Decorated Mapuche Stone Bowl
Pre-Columbian, northern Chile or Argentina, Mapuche people, ca. 1500 CE. Finely carved from a single piece of hard black/brown basalt and polished to have a smooth surface on the interior, raised designs on the exterior. Exterior skillfully carved with repeated claw-like motifs reminiscent of the stone clavas found from this culture. Size: 8.625" W x 3.5" H
Dancing Bear
Inuit Carving “Dancing Bear”.
Chavin Stone Mace Heads
Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chaviv, ca. 900 to 500 BCE. First - An example of a cylindrical mace head that is hand-carved from dense black-hued stone. The bulky weapon features rows of protruding nodules that encircle the exterior surface, and a biconically drilled socketing hole enabled the head to be securely fastened to the end of a pole. Size: 3.625" W x 3.9" H.
Second, with radiating spirals - A grey stone mace head, with a squat form and a tapered central socket. The exterior widens abruptly into a discoid shape with diagonally radiating spikes flowing down its sides. Significantly, the Chavin culture does not seem to have been warlike, and their cultural expansions across the landscape was not violent - at least as far as archaeologists can find - until the very end of the period, when maces like this suddenly become evident. Was this an actual weapon used in war? Or was this a status symbol made to be put into a grave? Many mysteries about this early culture remain. Size: 4.05" W x 3.55" H.
Maya Pottery Bowl Skull in Tondo, Kill Hole
Pre-Columbian, Late Classic Maya, ca. 550 to 900CE. An terracotta plate, richly decorated, with a "kill hole" in tondo. The iconography of the bowl is centered on a skull in tondo, with four pairs of glyphs on the red-painted interior walls and narrow black bands demarcating the upper and lower bounds of the walls. The skull recalls the Temple of the Skull at Palenque and other Maya artwork that recalls the cultural image of the trophy head. Trophy heads were a near universal constant in Mesoamerican imagery for millennia, although by the Classic Maya period it seems more likely that the taking of actual trophy heads had (mostly) been replaced by the ball from the ballgame (in the Popol Vuh, a decapitated head is used instead of a rubber ball). Size: 13.25" W x 2.25" H.
Nazca Pottery Keros – Snakes and Underworld Felines
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Nazca culture, probably Phase 6 or 7, ca. 600 BCE to 800 CE (Feline) and 250 BCE to 125 CE (Snakes).
Feline - A kero (quero), a small cylindrical vessel depicting a figure known variously as the "underworld feline" or the "Nazca Cat Demon" in a repeated register around the body. Interestingly, the Nazca probably were not very familiar with wild cats - the only feline native to their homeland is the pampas cat, which in life is quite small. Pierce feline creatures in iconography may have come to the Nazca from contact with other Puruvian cultures. Size: 4.25" W x 4.2" H.
Snakes - A thin-walled pottery vessel, painted with an abstract textile-inspired pattern on interlocking snakes delineated in red and cream hues, the interior slip painted in red. Serpents were a fascinating element of Pre-Columbian iconography as snakes were thought to be beneficial sources of nourishment and at the same time were quite deadly with their poisonous venom. Also important to the indigenous was the fact that snakes shed their skin annually thus rejuvenating themselves and serving as symbols of renewal and good health. Size: 5.125" W x 3.125" H.
Oldest realistic view of Prague
Oldest realistic view of Prague known to exist from Hartmann Schedel’s 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle. Woodcut engraving printed on paper.
Map of Bohemia published in 1570
A map of Bohemia included in his atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theatre of the World which is considered the first modern Atlas) by Dutch cartographer Abraham Ortelius in 1570.
Bohemiae Rosa
Bohemiae Rosa (Bohemian Rose) with Prague in the centre and Vienna on the stem.
A copper engraving by Wolfgang Kilian from a painting by Kristian Vetter for a 1668 book Epitome Historica Berum Bohemicarum by Czech nationalist Bohuslav Balbin. Very few originals of this map exist today as the book was considered subversive and most of the published books were burned shortly after publication.
A copper engraving of Prague
A copper engraving of Prague from the famous Civitates Orbis Terrarum (Cities of the known world) in six volumes published by Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg in Cologne Germany between 1588 and 1618.
Pre-Columbian Chert / Obsidian Tools & Blades
Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican, Colima & Aztec, ca. 300 BCE to 1500 CE. Part of a collection of chert and obsidian stone blade and projectile points, used as ritualistic or prestige burial items, and possibly as tools or weapons. The arrow shaped blade is made from a lustrous obsidian, the notched shoulders enabling this blade to be easily hafted to a shaft as a spear or projectile. Obsidian was revered for its naturally glassy surface that fractured into razor sharp edges.
Moche Gold Rondel – Stylized Jaguar Face
Pre-Columbian, Peru (North Coast), Moche Culture, ca. 100 to 700 CE. A hammered 10K gold-copper alloy disc depicting a stylized jaguar face, heart-shaped, with round eyes and a mouth full of fierce, openwork teeth. Four piercings, two each through top and bottom, allowed this disk to be sewn onto a tunic or otherwise worn. Moche artisans created feline imagery over and over again, with the focus often being the animals' faces and in particular their mouths full of sharp teeth. The Moche, like other Peruvian cultures, associated felines with military, religious, and political leaders; the animals' method of attacking the head of its prey was also a symbol for decapitation in a culture that revered the taking of trophy heads. Size: 4' W x 4" H.
Inca Stone Ceremonial Vessel w/ Snakes
Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Inca, ca. 1400 to 1533CE. A hand-carved stone ceremonials bowl featuring high relief snakes across the sides. The vessel's body has a rounded but stable base, the curved walls come up to a think rim and shallow basin. The 2 snakes with sinuous bodies encircle the exterior, tail tips on one side and their heads positioned on the opposite side. In the Pre-Columbian world, animals were highly symbolic beings and serpents were metaphors for rain and blood, two life-giving fluids. At the same time, they were viewed as creatures that portend great danger. Their ability to shed their skin each year, and thus rejuvenate themselves, also made them symbolic of health and renewal. Snakes were integral to spirituality and such a richly decorated bowl may have served a ritualistic purpose rather than utilitarian. Size: 6.25" Diameter x 2.75" H.
Huari Wood Bowl Portrait Faces in Relief
Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Huari (Wari) culture, ca. 700 yo 1000 CE. A wooden dish featuring four heads carved in relief upon the exterior. The vessel rests on a flat base, and the walls rise upward to a thick rim and a shallow basin. The faces evenly spaced along the vessel and are identical with a stylized visage of a forward-facing man with a rectangular head, short brow, triangular nose, wide eyes, and rounded ear ornaments. These faces represent lords, the elite rulers of Huari society. The arid conditions of southern Peru beautifully preserved wooden objects from this culture. Size: 4.5" diameter x 2.125" H.
Sinu Tumaga Seated Shaman Finial w/ Bird
Pre-Columbian, Columbia, Sinu Valley, Sinu culture, ca. 1000 to 1500 CE.
Prairie Oysters
Bronze by Czech-Canadian western artist Vilem Zach. Zach's work consists of candid, yet detailed portraits of the western heritage. He began experimenting with sculpting pieces and casting them in bronze, a medium for which he is now internationally recognized.
Chew Chums
Bronze by Czech-Canadian western artist Vilem Zach. Zach's work consists of candid, yet detailed portraits of the western heritage. He began experimenting with sculpting pieces and casting them in bronze, a medium for which he is now internationally recognized.
Land of the Longknives
Bronze by Czech-Canadian western artist Vilem Zach. Zach's work consists of candid, yet detailed portraits of the western heritage. He began experimenting with sculpting pieces and casting them in bronze, a medium for which he is now internationally recognized.
Teotihuacan Stone Footed Jar
Pre-Columbian, Valley of Mexico, Teotihuacan, ca. 3rd to 7th century CE.
Too close for Comfort
Bronze by Czech-Canadian western artist Vilem Zach
Zach's work consists of candid, yet detailed portraits of the western heritage. He began experimenting with sculpting pieces and casting them in bronze, a medium for which he is now internationally recognized.
Tiahuanaco Wooden Kero w/ Lizard
Pre-Columbian, Bolivia, Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku), ca. 400 to 1100 CE. A large, dark wooden kero (also qiru, quero, qero), an Andean drinking vessel made to consume maize-based alcohol called chicha. This example is of the style found at Lake Titicaca. The vessel is conical, flaring out at the mouth, with two raised bands at the top and bottom. In relief on the side is a lizard, with its head projecting upward from the rim, as if looking at the drinker. Inlaid into the top of the head is a white shell disc. Vessels like this one were traditionally made into pairs so that people could exchange the beverage ritually. Size: 6.8" W x 9.7" H.
Hockey Hall of Fame Jersey
Unique jersey signed by over 75 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees including Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Wayne Gretzky, Guy LaFleur, Mario Lemieux and Rocket Richard.
1972 Summit Series Team Canada Photo
Signed by over 30 team members and event organizers including Paul Henerson, Stan Mikita, Tony and Phil Esposito and Alan Eagleson, along with a signed Bobby Orr puck.
1976 Montreal Canadiens
1976 Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup Winning team signed pucks and McFarlane figures.
