2
Artist_Maker%20%3D%20%225311%22
Ceramics
Jar with Reptile Heads
Pot with Double-Headed Lizards
Atlantic Watershed artist, (active )
Atlantic Watershed artist
Costa Rica
Primary
5 15/16 x 11 x 7 1/2 in. (15.1 x 28 x 19 cm)
.
.
.
overall
overall
Blackware
Blackware
El Rio applique and Belen incised styles
Atlantic Watershed; made in Costa Rica
ca. 500-800
500
800
1000 BCE - 500 CE, Guanacaste-Nicoya, lizards, Pre-Columbian art of Central & South America
Ceramics
This pot originates from the mountainous region of central Costa Rica. Painted with black-slip, the vessel was then decorated with incised marks made after firing.
The two lizard heads serve both as handles and as a visual metaphor for the concept of dualism. This deeply-rooted artistic convention often depicts objects in pairs to represent the fundamental complexities of life and death. A central component of many societies in the Ancient Americas, symbolic dualism seeks to balance the opposing manifestations of male and female, left and right, light and dark, and night and day.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
1972.8
item
Memorial Art Gallery
2/3/2001
72.8DI1
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/72.8_A1.jpg
Sculpture
Shaman Figure (Sukia)
Shaman Smoking a Cigar
Atlantic Watershed artist, (active )
Atlantic Watershed artist
Costa Rica
4 1/4 x 2 x 4 in. (10.8 x 5.1 x 10.2 cm)
.
.
.
Stone
Stone
Atlantic Watershed; made in Costa Rica
ca. 800-1525
800
1525
Chircot-Orosi, figures, Pre-Columbian art of Central & South America
Sculpture
This seated shaman figure is a standard type that was produced in great quantities in central Costa Rica. Carved from volcanic stone these figures were included in burials, and perhaps made initially for domestic use.
Hallucinogenic drugs, derived from native plants and animals, played a large role in this culture. Shown deep in a trance, the shaman here is most likely either inhaling or expelling a narcotic. He wears no earthly clothing or jewelry and there is no visible body modification, as he is both of this world and the world beyond.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
1969.56
item
Memorial Art Gallery
2/3/2001
69.56DI2
digital image
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/69.56_A1.jpg