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Clay vessel base

Hollow, zoomorphic head protome with wall attachment. The fragment has a round opening on the lower jaw. It has been smoothed and smudged on both sides. The outside of the object is primed and painted. The primer and paint are heavily eroded. The pottery has a white-yellowish base colour, which was painted black-brown on the outside of the vessel. The elongated head protome has two small ears and probably belongs to an armadillo. According to Lehmann 1913: "Nicarao style." According to Lothrop 1926: Nicoya polychrome ware, animal effigy vessel. Cultural significance: according to Snarskis (1983: 65) and Lange (2003, pers. comm.), the Pataky group displaced Papagayo pottery in the Gran Nicoya region between 1250 and 1150d.C.. Their decoration shows a strong Mesoamerican influence. Similar protomes occur in Pacific Central America in the Pataky Policromo variant, variedad Mayer (1350-1000d.C.), in the Tohil-Plumbat pottery (1200-950d.C.) and in the Ulua Policromo group (950-550d.C.). The type was mainly documented in burials. (Künne 2004)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Object type
Clay vessel base
Dimensions
Height: 5,8 cm
Depth: 7 cm
Width: 5,3 cm
Material/Technique
Sound
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 49048 b

Provenance and sources

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

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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