Photographer: | Rights management: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
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Small, zoomorphic vascular flute with an inflated resonating body and two feet. The instrument has four finger holes and a short, conical mouthpiece. The object has been smoothed, sanded, primed, painted and lightly polished. The primer and paint are partially eroded. The ceramic has a white-brownish base colour, which is painted red and black-brown. The shape of the object is reminiscent of a mammal. There are several pictorial fields on its back that are decorated with black-brown geometric motifs. They appear to reflect the structures of textiles or wickerwork. The painted sectors are bordered by broad red lines. The mouthpiece is painted red. According to Lothrop 1926: highland polychrome ware. Cultural significance: the pottery of the Mora group was produced in the north-west of Costa Rica and traded to the Central Highlands and the Atlantic region of the country. It uses design elements (seated anthropomorphic figures with headdresses, mat motif, Kan cross) that are also known from the Maya ceramics (Copador group) of the Clásico Tardío (900-600d.C.). The variant is related to the Gillén Negro sobre café claro (1350-1000d.C.) and Palmira Policromo (1350-1000d.C.) groups. (Künne 2004)
