Hollow, zoomorphic leg with wall and base attachment. The fragment belongs to a plate and has a rattle ball. It has been smoothed on both sides, slurried, primed, painted and lightly polished. The paint and primer are partially eroded. The ceramic has a white-yellowish base colour, which was painted red-orange and black-brown. The zoomorphic leg depicts a grotesquely distorted face. It has a forehead cone, emphasised eyebrows and an open mouth. Fragments of a surrounding frieze appear at the base of the wall. On the inside of the vessel wall there are three fragmented, circumferential motif bands. A deep frieze shows stepped elements. The base of the plate was painted with a limb motif. Symbolic meaning: the decorations of the variant may reflect complex mythological themes. According to Bransford (1881), the object belongs to the Sta. Helena ware. Lothrop (1926) discusses the same group under his Nicoya polychrome ware. Cultural significance: the Papagayo Policromo type represents 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 manifested 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. Similar modes also appear in the Luna group. (Künne 2004)