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Tripod clay vessel

Ovaloid, three-legged jug with a flowing neck. The short legs have narrow, vertical openings and rattle balls. The object has been smoothed, sanded and primed on both sides. Its exterior is painted in polychrome. The primer and paint are heavily eroded. The ceramic was painted brick red. It has a white-yellowish base colour, which is painted red, orange and black on the outside of the object. The body is decorated with two opposing, bimorphic creatures that have a snake and lizard-like quality. They have a two-part tail and open their mouths wide. Their articulated body has triangular segments with cross lattice structures. There is a frieze around the neck of the vessel that shows rhombuses and vertical line bundles. An orange band runs along the rim on the inside. According to Bransford 1881: Sta. Helena ware. According to Lothrop 1926: Nicoya polychrome ware, monkey motif, type B. According to Bonilla et al. 1987: serpiente-mono. Cultural significance: the objects of the Papagayo Policromo group represent the beginning of polychrome painting on a white-yellowish ground in the Gran Nicoya region. The tradition lasted until the Policromo Tardío (1350-1520d.C.). Its decoration shows a strong Mesoamerican influence. This manifests itself in the replacement of lizard and bat themes with depictions of cats of prey and snakes. The ceramics served as supra-regional trade goods. (Künne 2004)

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Data Provider
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Tripod clay vessel
Dimensions
Diameter: 8,3 cm
Weight: 1.000 g
Height: 22,2 cm
Depth: 14,3 cm
Width: 14,4 cm
Wandstärke: 0,7 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 41090

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    when
    Policromo Medio (800 - 1350)
    where
    Costa Rica
    Guanacaste
    Santa Cruz
    Santa Bárbara
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Purchase from Dr Walter Lehmann 1909
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    American Archaeology

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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