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Clay vessel

Small, twig-shaped bowl with a retracting rim. The object has a high, hollow base with a flat standing surface with small, round openings. The ceramic has painted and applied decorations. There are two opposing oval openings on the wall of the base. The vessel has been smoothed, slipped, primed, painted and polished on both sides. The primer and paint are heavily eroded. The restored pottery has many cracks and flaws. The object has a white-reddish base colour, which is painted red and black-brown on the outside of the ceramic. A black-brown band runs along the rim. The vessel wall is decorated with two opposing pictorial fields. The central motif depicts an anthropomorphic face with ears, eyes and nose. The person depicted has elaborate face painting and wears ear jewellery. The opposing wall sections are decorated with vertical red stripes. There are two high red bands running around the base. The lower parts of the base are decorated with a surrounding frieze. It shows heavily eroded geometric motifs consisting of vertical red stripes and black-brown S elements. The inside of the bowl was primed red. According to Lothrop 1926: Nicoya polychrome ware, human effigy vessel. Cultural significance: the type was produced exclusively in the south of the Gran Nicoya region and traded to the Central Highlands and the Atlantic region of Costa Rica. The pottery is known both from burials and from settlement contexts. It was often associated with the Altiplano Policromo group (1350-800d.C.). (Künne 2004)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Object type
crock
Dimensions
Mündung: 8,6 cm
Objektmaß: 13,5 x 10,6 x 10,5 cm
Wandstärke: 0,35 cm bis 0,5 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 47594 a

Provenance and sources

when
Policromo Medio (800 - 1350)
where
Costa Rica
Guanacaste [Provinz]
Santa Cruz [Kanton]
Santa Bárbara [Ort]

who
Lehmann, Walter - Collectors

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