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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Jaguar Effigy Vessels : Guanacaste-Nicoya Jaguar Effigy Vessel
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Guanacaste-Nicoya Jaguar Effigy Vessel - PF.3626
Origin: Guanacaste, Nicoya, Costa Rica
Circa: 1000
AD
to 1350
AD
Dimensions:
13.75" (34.9cm) high
x 12" (30.5cm) wide
Catalogue: V16
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Style: Guanacaste-Nicoya
Medium: Terracotta
Location: United States
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| Description |
These dark-brown or black slipped vessels,
usually characterized by modeled zoomorphic
features and white filled engraved lines, seem to
represent standing human figures with
zoomorphic masks and other animal features,
perhaps cloaks or skins. Incomplete
iconographic knowledge prevents further
interpretation of the roles of these animals in the
prevailing mythological framework, although
they also appear before and through period vi in
central and Eastern Costa Rican settings, where
modeled and appliqué decoration was more
common. This polychrome vessel is handsomely
decorated, showing the true talent of the
craftsmen. There is little geometric patterning
except for the neck of the vessel and there are
three-foot supports, two of which represent the
feet of a person. It is well proportioned in size
and both its shape and its iconography make us
wonder about the past and indeed the past of
this piece. We are lucky to be a part of its history.
- (PF.3626)
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