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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Zoomorphic Vessels : Vessel Depicting a Three Dimensional Animal
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Vessel Depicting a Three Dimensional Animal - PF.3344
Origin: Costa Rica (Guanacaste)
Circa: 1200
th
Century AD
to 1550
th
Century AD
Dimensions:
10.5" (26.7cm) high
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
$7,500.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
On this masterpiece of composition and emotion
springs forth an animal that looks similar to a
squirrel with its powerful arms holding an object
in the tight clamp of its mouth. There are
extreme emotions felt in this piece through the
color, the stories told through the banding, and
the powerful three-dimensional animal, which
holds a significant symbolic meaning. The artist's
depiction exemplifies this culture's belief that
animals contain a sense of majesty and power
through jagged lines that form the composition
of the mouth, which is full. Power is also
conveyed through the patterning on the head,
strong blackness on the eyes, and the swirling
shapes on the ears; showing us how highly
animals were revered and thought of as able to
hear all, as well as see all. Over the head are
layers of banding that force us to keep turning
the pot to find the story on the other side. The
top band is made of very angular crosshatched
lines, and swirling arched lines. The eye shape
on the reverse of the pot reminds us of the evil
eye, a spirit capable of keeping harm away from
one's self. On the last banding, two colors are
intertwined to show the coexistence of life and
death at the same time, and to emphasize that
one animal may have the power to protect
eternally. Throughout generations there is a
symbol for a "protector", passing from the evil
eye to a mighty animal. This magnificent
depiction of a revered animal serves as a symbol
of power as well as becoming an eternal
protector to those that are worthy.
- (PF.3344)
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