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Clay shard

Curved base fragment with leg attachment. The object has been smoothed, slurried, primed, painted and polished on both sides. The primer and paint are partially eroded. The fragment has a crack. The pottery has a cinnamon-coloured base, which is painted black and red. The inside of the fragment is decorated with curved black and red lines. The black lines appear to delimit the U-shaped and dotted body of a snake-like creature. The underside shows red and black bands. It has a circular, hollow leg base, which is marked by a surrounding red band. According to Lothrop 1926: highland polychrome ware, two headed monster. 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 has been documented both in burials and in settlement contexts. It does not occur in Nicaragua. (Künne 2004)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Clay shard
Dimensions
Height: 8,5 cm
Depth: 3 cm
Width: 12,7 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 47955 d

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    when
    Policromo Medio (800 - 1350)
    where
    Costa Rica
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    American Archaeology

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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