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Clay vessel

Three-part figurine vessel. The object consists of a reclining cat of prey carrying a deep bowl on its back. The hollow figure has two opposing heads, four bow legs, seven oval openings and several rattle balls. The ceramic has been smoothed, slurried and primed on both sides. The outside is painted and polished. The restored object has several broken and missing parts. The outside of the vessel has a white-yellowish base colour, which was painted red, orange, brown and black-brown. The zoomorphic body depicts a reclining feline creature. It has two opposing heads resting on the figure's bent legs. The painted decorations imitate the fur pattern of a feline. On the outside of the bowl there is a frieze below the rim with stepped elements. The decoration is complemented by several central, circumferential bands. The inside of the bowl is primed twice. It shows a red top colour on a white-yellowish background. The wall is decorated with a circumferential band around the edge. According to Lothrop 1926: highland polychrome ware. 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
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Cataloguing data

Object type
crock
Dimensions
Depth: 7,3 cm
Wandstärke: 0,75 cm
Height: 13,5 cm
Depth: 17,1 cm
Width: 10,5 cm
Diameter: 9,3 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 41524

Provenance and sources

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

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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