The illustrations given herewith are chosen from a great number of examples and are intended to convey an idea of the range of forms, both of the vessels and of their supports. Figs. 89 and 90 show plain forms of legs, all of which are hollow and contain small pellets of clay. The openings are generally wide vertical slits, and are placed in front, as seen in Fig. 89, or in the side, as in Fig. 90; but in exceptional cases they take other shapes and are scattered over the surface, as seen in Fig. 91. The legs are often remarkable in form, being swollen to an enormous size above and terminating in small rounded points below. The bowls are symmetrically shaped and graceful in outline. In Fig. 92 I present a group illustrating some of the more eccentric forms of bowls and a variety of their supports. A very superior piece and one of the largest of this style is shown in Fig. 93.
Fig. 92. Vases of varied form with plain and with animal shaped legs—⅓.
Fig. 93. Large vase of striking shape—½.
Fig. 94. Cup with legs imitating animal forms—½.
It will be seen that in a number of cases the legs are modeled to represent animal forms. This feature is brought out more clearly in succeeding figures. The creatures represented are often grotesque, as seen in Figs. 94 and 95. The human form is rarely shown in a way to make it clearly distinguishable from the figures of monkeys and other animals. The armadillo is a favorite subject. An example of small dimensions is illustrated in Fig. 96, in which this animal is given in characteristic style, and a more pretentious piece is shown in Fig. 97. The characteristics of the creature are very simply but graphically expressed. In the first the hard ribbed and figured case is represented by applied fillets and nodes, and in the other by incised lines. The frog is also much used (Fig. 98). A rather remarkable conception is illustrated in Fig. 99. Upon the front of each leg is a curious little animal-like figure, to the front of which are bound two minute infantile creatures. In the piece presented in Fig. 100, the legs are grotesque heads, inverted, with wide open mouths and glaring eyes. The work upon this vase is very superior.
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see caption Fig. 95. |
see caption Fig. 96. |
see caption Fig. 97. |
| Cup with legs imitating a grotesque animal form—½. | Cups with legs imitating the armadillo—½. | |
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| Fig. 98. Cup with frog shaped legs—½. | Fig. 99. Cup with legs imitating an animal and its young—½. |
Fig. 100. Cup supported by grotesque heads—½.
The remarkable specimen illustrated in Fig. 101 is furnished with unique supports. Two rudely modeled, semihuman, grotesque figures are affixed to the under surface of the bowl, supporting it with their backs.
Fig. 101. Large cup supported by two grotesque figures—⅓.
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| Fig. 102. Cup with two animal heads attached to the sides—¼. | Fig. 103. Cup with two animal heads attached to the sides—¼. |
The legs of these figures are spread out horizontally, so that a firm support is obtained. The periphery of the body of this vessel is encircled by a number of nodes and noded projections, which represent the heads, tails, and spines of two crab-like animals. The heads, with arms attached, appear at the right and left, and the tails occur at the front and back just over the heads of the supporting figures. The use of the crab in this way is quite common. Fish, birds, and a variety of quadrupeds are similarly treated. Some very interesting examples of double headed animal vases are found. Two of these are outlined in Figs. 102 and 103, the first having a single orifice and the second a pair of orifices. In many cases the bowl of the vessel is considerably modified, to give a more decided resemblance to the body of the creature. This is well shown in Figs. 104-106. The first is probably intended for a bird: the second resembles an armadillo; and the third portrays a creature with ears and three horns. The oblong vessel shown in Fig. 107 is modeled after a curious fish, to which the Chiriquians seem to have attached considerable importance. It is represented with a wide mouth displaying teeth, two spines or horns upon the end of the snout, and fins upon the back and sides. Fig. 108 gives the top view of another fish vase, which is supported, as are the others, by three legs. The body is flat and is encircled by well modeled fins. The head is rather flat and has the eyes and nose on the upper surface. I close this series of illustrations with an outline of a fine vase (Fig. 109) the rim of which is decorated with a single head of extremely grotesque and repulsive character.
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| Fig. 104. Vase imitating an animal form—⅓. | Fig. 105. Vase imitating an animal form—⅓. |
Fig. 106. Vase shaped to imitate an animal form—⅓.
Fig. 107. Fish shaped vessel—⅓.
Fig. 108. Top view of a fish shaped vessel—⅓.
Fig. 109. Cup with grotesque head attached to the rim—½.
Black incised group.—
This pottery, although closely related to the other varieties in its leading features, presents differences of a pronounced character. The number of specimens recovered is rather small. The largest piece has a capacity of perhaps a quart. Some of the forms are identical with those of other groups, but a few are peculiar to this ware. The color is black, brown, or dark gray, and in most cases the entire mass is quite dark. The decoration is executed in two somewhat distinct styles: in one the lines were scratched or engraved subsequently to the hardening of the clay; in the other they were deeply engraved with a sharp point while the clay was still moist. The lines are usually very deep and are filled with a white substance which renders the pattern distinctly visible upon the surface. It seems probable that the lines were engraved deeply with the intention of producing this effect. Type specimens are shown in Figs. 110 and 111. They are small globular bottles, with short necks and wide apertures and with handles placed at opposite sides of the lip, which is prolonged to meet them. The design covers a large part of the body and is separated into two parts by the handles and the undecorated panels that descend from them. The figures appear to be very highly conventionalized animal forms, probably serpents. The coiled ends of the ribbon-like dotted bands are evidently meant to suggest the heads of reptiles. The figures assume a variety of shapes and grade by degrees from the recognizable life forms into purely geometric patterns. Examples of the latter style are given in Figs. 112 and 113. The motives employed, although so conventionally treated, are pretty certainly identical in origin with the preceding.
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see caption Fig. 110. |
see caption Fig. 111. |
| Black cups with incised reptilian figures—½. | |
Fig. 112. Black vase with conventional incised pattern—½.
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| Fig. 113. Small cup with conventional incised patterns—½. | Fig. 114. Small tripod cup with upright walls and legs imitating animal heads—½. |
There are a number of tripods in this group, some of which have the deeply incised ornaments and others the shallow ones. The shapes vary greatly, a few examples being decidedly Costa Rican in type. Pieces with round bodies have conical legs, like much of the Chiriquian ware, but those with shallow basins and angular, incurved, upright, or flaring rims have the Costa Rican tripod. Figs. 114 and 115 may serve to illustrate this variety. The first is a cup, with upright sides and thick rim, having an incised geometric pattern. The second is much more striking in appearance. The surface color is brownish gray in hue and the simple geometric design was scratched through into the lighter color beneath after the clay hardened. The legs represent the heads of animals conventionally treated and are hollow, containing movable pellets. This specimen is from latitude 8° 42´ north, longitude 82° 52´ west. Others of this class come from different parts of the province.
Fig. 115. Vase with flaring rim and legs, imitating animal heads—½.
To this class belongs also a small dark vase of peculiar shape and interesting decoration, which is illustrated in Fig. 116. The neck is large and the lip widely flaring, and the body is modeled in imitation of the head of some animal, possibly a peccary. The side representing the face is prolonged, giving an unsymmetric profile, as seen in the second figure. The eyes are set midway between the ears (which are placed at the sides) and the nostrils, and are inclosed by curious engraved figures, probably suggested by the markings of the animal portrayed. An arched ridge, representing the brows, connects the bridge of the nose with the ears. The most novel feature of this piece is the band of incised ornament that crosses the back of the head and serves probably to carry out the idea of the complete creature. As will be seen by reference to the figure, it is a guilloche-like interlacing of fillets, bordered and apparently held in place by longitudinal bands, beyond which the angles of the ornament project. The pattern is a modified form of one commonly seen upon the margins of the larger stone metates, and, although rarely met with in the pottery of Chiriqui, was a favorite motive with the potters of Costa Rica. This vessel comes from 30 miles north-northwest of David.
Fig. 116. Vase modeled to resemble the head of an animal—½.
Fig. 117. Pattern upon the back of the vase presented in Fig. 116.
The unpainted wares here so briefly described are typically Chiriquian, and are closely associated in the graves with most of the leading groups of art products of the province. It must be allowed that they take first rank in the isthmian states, if not in America, for simplicity and refinement of form, perfection of method, and purity of style.
PAINTED WARE.
The painted vases of Chiriqui embrace at least ten easily distinguished varieties of ware. The characters upon which the classification is based are somewhat heterogeneous and include material, color, shape, finish, ornamentation, method of manufacture, and evidences of use. No single character and no one group of characters can be relied upon to distinguish the different groups. We must depend, therefore, upon an assemblage of characters or upon one character in one place and another in another place. Observing a number of striking differences in two groups of ware, we arrive at the conclusion that these groups must have been the work of distinct communities; yet we find very marked differences in wares that (through the possession in common of some particular feature) we know to be the work of the same hands. We can, therefore, determine little in regard to the peoples concerned.
I do not consider the presence in a single grave of two or more varieties sufficient proof of their common origin, for a number of distinct wares may come into the possession of one community through trade, conquest, or the spoliation of tombs; but a constant recurrence together of the same forms affords strong evidence that the objects were the work of the people with whom they were buried. Unfortunately our observations in the field are not sufficiently accurate to enable us to utilize associations or methods of occurrence in the graves as a means of classification.
The following classification is, under the circumstances, the best that I can devise, and is of use mainly as a means of facilitating description. The name chosen generally indicates a leading or striking characteristic of the group.
The scarified group, separated widely from all other varieties.
The handled group and
The tripod group, apparently the work of one community and devoted to the same or similar uses.
The maroon group;
The red line group;
The white line group;
The lost color group;
The alligator group; and
The polychrome group, no two of which are sufficiently alike to make it certain, without extraneous evidence, that they were manufactured by the same community, yet all clearly belonging to one great family.
These groups are presented in the order given.
Before proceeding with the descriptions, however, there are some matters of a general nature that should be referred to. Technical questions have already received considerable attention, and I shall need only to refer here to the painted ornamentation, and at sufficient length to insure a clear understanding of its treatment and the scope of its subject matter.
Painted vessels are embellished to some extent also by incising and modeling, and these methods are employed very much as in the unpainted pottery already described.
Painted decoration is executed with much freedom and in many cases with considerable skill. It is greatly varied in method of treatment and embraces a wide range of motives. Geometric patterns occur in great variety, but are found to be of types peculiar to Isthmian America. The conventional meanders, frets, and scrolls so extensively employed in other regions are here almost unknown. Decorative motives derived from natural forms are abundant and afford an excellent opportunity to study the processes of conventional modification. These designs are often applied in a way to indicate that the decorator possessed a keen sense of the requirements of the vessel, although the treatment perhaps is not as universally satisfactory as is the treatment of plastic embellishment.
The potter, in preparing the vessel for the decorator, ordinarily finished it with a slip or wash of fine clay, which varied in hue from a gray white to a pale orange. A slip of bright red tint was also extensively used. The more delicate hues formed an excellent ground upon which to work. The slip covered surface was generally polished, often to a high degree, with the usual polishing implements, the marks of which can be seen upon the less carefully finished surfaces. By observers unacquainted with aboriginal methods this polish is liable to be taken for a glaze, and it has been pronounced a vitreous glaze by a few writers. It is more noticeable upon specimens that have been handled a great deal, as is the case with whistles, needlecases, and the like.
The colors utilized in decoration, so far as they have been preserved, are the ground tints, described above, and the delineating colors, the latter consisting of black, white, red in various hues, and a dull purple. An additional color (or perhaps a solution without particular color) extensively employed in the designs has totally disappeared. The nature of the various colors has not been determined, but it is probable that some were of mineral and others of vegetal origin.
Red was often employed as a ground color, as stated above, and sometimes covered the whole surface, but more frequently occupied zones or panels. In such use it was applied and polished down with the slip. Red was also extensively used in the delineation of decorative figures in several of the groups of ware, and is in all cases a permanent color. The hues vary decidedly with the groups of products, suggesting differences in people or in environment. White may have been freely used, but it is preserved in a few cases only, in which it was used in the production of simple decorative patterns, and appears to have been a somewhat thick or pasty color. Black was extensively used and was of two distinct kinds: a thick permanent pigment, employed in the delineation of designs, and a thin color, not so permanent and employed exclusively as a ground upon which to execute designs in other mediums. The latter may possibly be of vegetal derivation. Its use was confined to a single variety of ware, the lost color group. The former was employed in all the other groups, with one exception, the red line group.
The light purple tint is but sparingly used and only in the polychrome group. It is very effective in combination with the reds and blacks upon the orange ground of this ware. It is probably of a mineral nature.
What I have denominated the lost color was a pigment, or “taking out” solution, extensively and exclusively employed in the decoration of one of the principal groups of ware. Its former existence is made known by its action upon the ground colors and upon the paste or slip within the areas covered by it. Where superimposed upon black, that color has in all cases been removed, exposing the underlying tints of the slip in which the designs are now manifested, the interspaces being still black. In some cases the lost color has not only removed the black ground, but has affected the slip beneath, removing it also, and to such a degree that the polished surface is destroyed and shallow intaglio lines occur, leaving the interspaces in relief. This circumstance enforces the idea that possibly the “lost color” was really not a color at all, but an acid which acted upon the ground colors at once, destroying the black entirely and leaving the effect now seen. This point must remain for the present undetermined.
The figures in all cases appear to have been delineated with ordinary brushes and by purely free hand methods. The degree of skill varies greatly. The execution in the great body of the work is rather inferior and indicates a lack of skill and care, but in a limited number of pieces the manipulation is masterly.
The designs are confined to the show spaces, being exterior in narrow necked vessels and generally interior in shallow forms.
In arrangement upon the surfaces this decoration presents some novel features. The slight degree of uniformity in arrangement indicates the absence of any mechanical aid, such as the wheel, which device would tend to reduce all decoration to a series of horizontal zones. We observe indeed the occurrence of horizontal arrangements, but not to a degree greater than would naturally arise as a result of the conformation of the vessel. Upright, oblique, and arched arrangements are frequently met with, and all are safely attributable to the domination of spaces to be covered or to the influence of antecedent shapes. Examples and details are given as they come up in the various sections.
The scarified group.—
This group is represented by about forty specimens and is worthy of especial attention. It comes from the graves of two localities, one near C. E. Taylor’s hacienda, north of David, on the slopes of Mount Chiriqui, and the other at Alanje, southwest of David. As a variety of ware it stands so entirely alone that had it arrived unlabeled no one would have recognized its affinities with Chiriquian art. It is rather inferior in material, grace of form, and surface finish, and the decoration appears to belong to a lower grade of culture than that of the other groups. It is possibly the work of an inferior race in comparatively recent times.
Nearly all the vessels are tripods, but a few have rounded or flat bottoms and a few are supplied with annular stands. The walls are thick and the shapes are uncouth or clumsy. The paste is coarse, poorly baked, and friable; near the surface it is a warm reddish or yellowish gray; within the mass it is a dark gray.
The makers of this pottery, like their brother artificers, took especial pleasure in the modeling of life forms. The work exhibited in these specimens is, however, exceptionally rude. In some cases grotesque heads are attached to the rims of bowls; in others the head, tail, and feet of animals appear about the periphery of the vase; and in a number of cases the legs of the tripods are modeled to represent the forms of living creatures. Generally the feet are clumsy in shape and three toed, suggesting the feet of the tapir.
These vessels are embellished by painting, incising, or scarifying and by modeling in relief. Color was not employed in the production of designs, but a dark Indian red pigment was daubed over that part of the surface not occupied by incised ornament. Little or no slip was used and the rude geometric patterns were executed with pointed tools in a very haphazard manner.
Fig. 118. Tripod bowl of red scarified ware—⅓.
Fig. 119. Tripod bowl of red scarified ware—⅓.
The bowls are more numerous than in any other group of the Chiriquian ware, but, as in the other groups, they are supplied with supports, either tripods, shaped like the feet of quadrupeds, or rude annular bases. In most cases the rim expands gradually from below, as seen in Fig. 118, or is recurved, as shown in Fig. 119. In a few cases the basin is oblong or boat shaped and the ends are pointed, as indicated in Fig. 120.
Fig. 120. Oblong basin with scarified design—⅓.
An interesting specimen is illustrated in Fig. 121. At the opposite ends of the bowl portions of the rim are carried upward and inward, forming handle-like appendages, modeled to represent, rudely, the heads of animals. Details of form and ornament are well brought out in the cut.
Fig. 121. Large bowl with handles imitating animal heads—⅓.
In Fig. 122 we have a high cylindrical shape with a flat bottom, the surface being scarified in vertical bands. A small pot, having an annular base and decoration similar to the preceding, is given in Fig. 123. In Fig. 124, instead of the vertical lines, we have a series of heavy ribs. Two strong vertically placed loops are fixed upon opposite sides of the shoulder and the base is supplied with the usual feet.
Fig. 122. Jar with flat bottom and vertical bands of incised ornament—⅓.
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| Fig. 123. Vase with stand and vertical incised bands—⅓. | Fig. 124. Vase with handles, legs, and vertical ribs—⅓. |
The tripods shown in Figs. 125 and 126 are somewhat mutilated, but they present features of interest in the novel shapes and the unique animal forms with which the legs are embellished. Each leg is represented as a complete animal, whose back or breast supports the vessel and whose cylindrical nether extremity rests upon the ground. The head in the first example resembles an owl and in the second reminds one of some crustacean form. An additional specimen of considerable interest is shown in Fig. 127. It is a heavy tripod, having four independent mouths, all opening into one chamber. The shape is unsatisfactory, being heavy and unsymmetrical. The exterior surface has the usual scarified figures and the interspaces and the entire inner surface of the vessel are painted red and rather carefully polished.
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| Fig. 125. Tripod with owl-like heads at insertion of legs—⅓. | Fig. 126. Tripod with legs rudely suggesting animal forms—⅓. |
Fig. 127. Heavy red vase with four mouths—⅓.
The handled group.—
The series of vessels to which this name is given comprises a large number of pieces of unusually even characters. They are obtained from a pretty wide district to the north and west of David and occur in connection with other groups. They are notable for uniformity in size, shape, and finish and for the unmistakable evidences of use over fire which at least three-fourths of them show. With the exception of a few large caldrons, not yet assigned to a particular group, they are more like ordinary cooking vessels than any other group of Chiriquian ware. The size, however, is remarkably small, the average capacity being about a pint. Larger pieces contain a quart or three pints.
The body is usually much compressed vertically and is flattish above and more or less conical below, giving a very graceful contour. The surface is rather rudely polished and the painting is done with notable carelessness, as if the intended use were not favorable to the preservation of the ornament. By means of a heavy brush, red figures, consisting of splotches, stripes, arches, and encircling bands, were applied to the yellowish gray surface and sometimes, as indicated by a smeared appearance, were polished down with an implement. It does not seem that a slip of ordinary white clay was very generally used. In a few cases a grayish blue tint appears upon some of the wider spaces.
The handles are perhaps the most notable feature of this ware, and usually occur two to a vessel; rarely there is but one handle and in a few cases there are four. This group may be separated into at least four sections by the styles of handles. Vessels of the two more important sections have two handles each, which are placed vertically in one variety and horizontally in the other, reference being had to the position of the points of attachment. These differences of position have given rise to a marked difference in the shape of the orifice and of the lip. The handle is a simple loop, which in the one variety is placed as seen in Fig. 128 and in the other as in Fig. 132. In the latter case one end of the loop is fixed to the shoulder and the other end to the lip, which is uniformly prolonged at the contact and is also widened all around; the result is the curious winged outline shown in Fig. 133.
Fig. 128. Vase with horizontally placed handles and rude designs in red—½.
A third variety of handle is a single arch, which spans the orifice and is attached to opposite sides of the expanded lip. In a fourth variety the looped handles are replaced by the heads of animals, which are set upon the shoulder of the vase, as are similar features in other groups of ware.
Fig. 129. Unpolished vase with heavy handles and coated with soot—½.
A type specimen with the horizontal loop is shown in Fig. 128. The lip and a wide belt about the body are painted red and the shoulder is occupied by rudely executed arched strokes of the same color. A much less usual shape is given in Fig. 129, which exhibits some characters of contour that remind us of well known Grecian forms. Another novel variation from the type is seen in Fig. 130, in which the arch of each loop is divided by an upright piece. A neat incised ornament occupies the shoulder of this vessel and the remainder of the body is finished in pale red.
Fig. 130. Round bodied red vase with unique handles and incised ornament—½.
It will be observed that the handles are rarely wholly plain. Each loop is supplied with one or more rings or ring-like fillets, or with small nodes, generally near the most prominent part of the curve or arch. By the study of a large number of specimens I am able to trace these puzzling features to their origin. They are the representatives of life forms which were originally modeled in full detail and which are still so modeled in many cases. The nodes and like features are atrophied heads, hands, or feet, and in some cases are marked with indentations that refer to the eyes or to the fingers or toes, and the round fillets stand for the arms and legs of animals, or, if notched in peculiar ways, may be referred to other originals, such as the mouths of fishes or the spines of crabs. Examples could be given showing all stages of the progress of simplification.
Fig. 131. Vase with grotesque figures attached to the handles—½.
In Fig. 131 I present a fine example of the horizontal loop, in which the opposite ends are supported by grotesque animal figures, applied, however, in a way not detrimental to the grace and simplicity of the vessel.
Fig. 132. Vase with upright handles and winged lip—½.
An example shown in Fig. 132 is of especial interest in this connection. The ornament upon the handle serves as a link between the realistic life form and the conventional nodes and fillets. In this case the node is supplied with eyes and a mouth, and the double roll of clay beneath is manifestly intended for the arms, the handle itself standing for the body. The loop is upright and joins the shoulder to the rim. The winged character produced by the expansion at the contact of handle and lip is shown to advantage in the top view (Fig. 133.) In some cases this expansion is so great as completely to hide the body of the vase when viewed from above.
Fig. 133. Top view of vase with winged lip—½.
Fig. 134. Vase with grotesque animal shaped handles—½.
Examples are outlined in Figs. 134 and 135 in which the life form is clearly defined. In the first we have a human-like figure, the face of which is entirely hidden by the hands. In the second we observe a curious little animal figure, with a long curved proboscis and a body covered with annular indentations. In general shape and in ornamentation these vases do not differ from the preceding. A remarkable piece, with two pairs of handles, is presented in Fig. 136. Grotesque figures are attached to the outer surface of the loops, one in each pair being placed in an inverted position. The two figures seen in the cut are simple, but those on the opposite pair of handles are compound, being double above the waist. The faces, hands, and feet of these figures are touched with red, and the lip and body of the vase are decorated with carelessly drawn stripes of red. In another case four plain handles are placed equidistantly about the neck of the vessel.
Fig. 135. Vase with handles representing strange animals—½.
Fig. 136. Vase with two pairs of handles ornamented with grotesque figures—½.
In a third variety the loop is omitted entirely, the animal figure taking its place upon the shoulder of the vase. This feature appears in the specimen given in Fig. 137 and represents the front part of a reptile, the head being hollow and containing a large movable pellet. This is a handsome piece, well finished, and decorated in the usual broad way.
Fig. 137. Vase with handles representing animal heads, which are hollow and contain pellets of clay—½.
Fig. 138. Vase with arched handles embellished with life forms in high relief—½.
A fourth variety is shown in Figs. 138 and 139, in which the handle spans the orifice as in an ordinary basket. The lip is flaring and is prolonged at the sides to meet the handle. In one case the outer surface of the handle is embellished with figures of frogs and serpents, or what seem to be intended for serpents, modeled in the round and rather imperfectly attached, and in the other with a pair of grotesque human figures set against the base of each end of the handle.
Fig. 139. Vase with arched handles embellished with life forms in high relief—½.
Typical vessels of this class are in many cases mounted upon tripods, but, for convenience of description, these are classed with the succeeding group, which consists mainly, if not entirely, of the same variety of ware.
To recapitulate, the striking characteristics of this group are the uniformity of size, shape, and handles, the rude finish and ruder ornamentation, and the very marked evidence of use over fire.
The tripod group.—
Closely related in most respects to the group of ware just described is the striking series of vessels here presented. At first glance the resemblances are not apparent, but a careful study renders it clear that the vessels proper correspond closely in both groups. The basins are for the most part made in the same heavy, rudely finished style, the decoration is almost equally rude, and the size and the evidence of use over fire are the same. The strong contrast in appearance is due mainly to the presence of tripod supports in this group. The legs, which constitute such a striking feature, are merely appendages to the bodies of vases already perfect, and are evidently an acquired feature suggested by some change in function or in the habits of the people. In this way we are able to account for the rather uncouth look observed in so many cases, the legs being too long and too heavy to please the cultured taste; yet in many cases the parts are so adjusted as to give an impression of firmness and strength, united with a goodly share of grace of line.
The legs are very generally modeled to represent animal forms. In a majority of cases the fish was chosen because, perhaps, its shape was suitable or because the fish bore some relation to the use to which the vessel was to be devoted. Lizards and mammals are also seen and the human form occasionally appears. In some cases the animal figure is attached to the upper part of the leg or is perched upon the hip, where that feature is pronounced. The body, or shaft, is hollow and contains pellets of clay, sometimes one only and again a dozen or more, and in order that these may be seen and heard variously shaped slits are cut in the sides or front of the legs. If the animal represented is a fish or lizard the entire body is modeled: the head is placed at the top, the under jaw or neck uniting with the body of the vessel; the tail rests upon the ground, and the fins or legs appear along the sides of the shaft. It should be observed that, while in Chiriqui the whole body of the creature is usually employed in forming the support, in Central America and Mexico the head alone is very generally used, the nose resting upon the ground. In less elaborate forms the legs are plain or have the merest hint of animal form in a node, a notched ridge, or a slightly modified extremity.
Handles are present in a majority of cases and as in the preceding group take the form of loops or represent the forms of animals. The loops are generally attached in a vertical position, connecting the shoulder with the lip of the vessel, and are plain round ropes of clay or consist of two or three cords twisted or plaited together. A few eccentric forms occur and are illustrated early in this section.
The animal shapes are often quite elaborate and appear to bear no relation to the creatures embodied in the legs of the vessel; neither does the position of the handles bear any uniform relation to the positions of the legs—another indication that the latter features are recent acquisitions, since features developed together are uniformly well adjusted.
The rim or lip is generally heavy and flaring, and the neck, which is short and pretty sharply constricted, is decorated with incised patterns and with various applied ornaments in relief. The body is graceful in outline and more or less conical below. As a rule the surface is uneven and but slightly polished and the figures in red are rudely executed, but in the more pretentious pieces much care has been exercised in finishing and painting. Most of the vessels have been used over the fire and still retain the sooty incrustations. This ware comes from a wide range of territory to the north and west of David.
The following illustrations represent some of the more important pieces and serve to give a partial idea of the range of form, size, and decoration.
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see caption Fig. 140. |
see caption Fig. 141. |
|
see caption Fig. 142. |
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| Tripod vases with shallow basins and eccentric handles—⅓. | |
I present, first, three vases of rather eccentric shapes, the basins of which are shallow and in two cases are flat bottomed. The handles are of unusual shapes, consisting of modifications of the lip, as seen in the illustrations (Figs. 140-142). Life elements are present in all cases in connection with the handles and legs where these are preserved, but they are very meager and so abbreviated as to be identified with difficulty. Incised markings at the ends of the handles represent hands or feet and eyes are affixed to the upper part of the legs. The ware is identical with that of the preceding group.
Fig. 143. Tripod vase of graceful shape and neat finish—⅓.
A representative specimen of the fish legged vessels is presented in Fig. 143. It is one of the most graceful forms in the series and is neatly finished and embellished, but is thoroughly blackened with soot. The handles are formed of twisted fillets or ropes of clay and a narrow, incised, rope-like band encircles the lower part of the neck. Set upon the neck and alternating with the handles are two scrolls neatly formed of small round ropes of clay. The fishes forming the legs are very simply treated. The mouth at the apex is formed by laying on an oblong loop of clay and the eyes are represented by two round pellets set into the soft clay of the head and indented with a slit that gives to them the exact effect of screwheads. A pair of fins—small incised or channeled cones—is placed at the sides of the head and another at the sides of the body. The cavity contains a single ball of clay and the slit is long and wide.
Fig. 144. Heavy tripod vase with widely spreading feet—⅓.
In other examples the fish form is much more elaborately modeled. The wide mouth exhibits a row of teeth and the body is well supplied with fins. The head in Fig. 144 reminds one forcibly of the catfish. The snout is furnished with two horn-like appendages; tooth-like features are formed by setting in pellets of clay, and the gills are indicated by a punctured excrescence at the side of the mouth. In other cases a high, sharp cone is set upon the middle of the head (Fig. 145). It is channeled down the sides, as if meant for a fin.