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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Tlaloc Effigy Vessels : Guanacaste-Nicoya Vessel Depicting the Head of Tlaloc
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Guanacaste-Nicoya Vessel Depicting the Head of Tlaloc - PF.4058
Origin: Guanacaste, Nicoya, Costa Rica
Circa: 1000
AD
to 1550
AD
Dimensions:
12.75" (32.4cm) high
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
Location: United States
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| Description |
The large ovoid jar rests on a flared foot and
curves into a very wide mouth. A vertical flange
rests just above the joining of the foot and body.
The vessel is painted to represent the head of the
Mexican rain God, Tlaloc. Ears with earspools, a
small nose and a protruding upper lip are
applied on the vessel. The large double-ringed
round eyes are diagnostic of the effigy face
theme. The mouth is a very large and black
zigzag and red dots around the sides represent a
mouth mask. The pedestal foot is ringed with a
painted decoration of black squares and lines
bordered by white squares similar to jaguar
spots. The wide inner band of the pedestal foot
is painted with jaguar bodies and tails with
crocodile snouts. The lower band of the body is
decorated with red and cream intertwining
serpent-like bodies. A band at the mouth rim
contains the stylized serpent motif and the band
below it contains the stylized jaguar motif. The
jaguars, like the serpents, are decorated with
intricate, lacy black on white panels. The
silhouettes in black against the white ground
give the effect of negative painting or reserve
decoration. By Period VI, the dominant
zoomorphic figures in apparent mythological
symbolic contexts were the jaguar and serpent.
This vessel is thought to have been elite-
associated ware.
- (PF.4058)
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