Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-1885, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 3-188Holmes, William Henry
History
Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-1885, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 3-188
Holmes, William Henry
Chiriquí (Panama : Province) -- Antiquities; Indian pottery -- Panama; Indians of Central America -- Panama
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 104. Vase imitating an animal form--⅓.]
[Illustration: Fig. 105. Vase imitating an animal form--⅓.]
[Illustration: Fig. 106. Vase shaped to imitate an animal form--⅓.]
[Illustration: Fig. 107. Fish shaped vessel--⅓.]
[Illustration: Fig. 108. Top view of a fish shaped vessel--⅓.]
[Illustration: Fig. 109. Cup with grotesque head attached to the
rim--½.]
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