Description:

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A jaguar metate, hand-carved from a single piece of volcanic stone with delightful details, especially on the face, which depicts a smiling animal with rounded ears and wide eyes. There is a wonderful stylized weaving pattern on the head and body surrounding the grinding bowl. The tail curls back to join one of the lower legs. A piece like this would have been used to grind hallucinogenic substances or medicines, for ceremonial rituals. Size: 12.5" L x 8" W x 4" H (31.8 cm x 20.3 cm x 10.2 cm)

Metate technology developed initially for the utilitarian purpose of grinding corn; however, they evolved into meaningful ritual objects, replete with strong iconography and intriguing sculptural forms. Examples of a larger scale but similar degree of decorative carving and iconographic symbolism were sometimes used to seat a departed lord on his journey to the afterlife. Jaguar imagery symbolized power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world; hence, warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World.

Provenance: private Rochester, Michigan USA collection

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#123538

  • Condition: Tail has been repaired, but it is a well done repair that is difficult to see.

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July 11, 2017 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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