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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Costa Rican Chocolate Pots : Armadillo Ritual Tripod Vessel
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Armadillo Ritual Tripod Vessel - PF.3129
Origin: Costa Rica
Circa: 1
AD
to 500
AD
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
$5,000.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
From the depths of an Ancient burial, this vessel
is brought to light from the mysterious distant
past of Costa Rica. The cultures that once
flourished in the past lived in a radically different
environment than we do today. The people who
created and held this vessel had direct contact
with nature and animals every moment of their
lives. A far cry from the environment which most
of us have direct contact with day after day as
the global trends of over-population and
pollution soar to irreparable degrees. The
armadillo is a nocturnal mammal, which
inhabited the Ancient jungles of Costa Rica and
is portrayed on the legs of this vessel. With the
use of a serrated shell, the artist has cleverly
created indentations, which naturalistically depict
the armor like covering of jointed plates that
distinguish the armadillo's body. The eyes peer
up at us from underneath the ears and the short,
blunt snout terminates with a slight curve to
firmly support the vessel. The armadillo's legs
are molded in a position of action. It is as if the
armadillos could scurry off the vessel at any
moment! There are slits vertically cut on the
interior of each tripod leg and soot covers the
bottom of the vessel which leads us to believe
that ancient fires once glowed beneath this
special vessel. Were sacred myths of the
armadillo in relation to nature and the cosmos
passed on from one generation to the next while
the aromas of the magical contents filled the
dark velvet evening sky? Were the contents
shared from one mouth to the next thus creating
a sense of unity amongst the people and their
environment? Our imaginations are tantalized by
the mysteries of the past and our aesthetic thirst
for ingenuity is quenched by the magnificent
form and beauty of this vessel.
- (PF.3129)
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