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 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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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