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.
[Illustration: Fig. 118. Tripod bowl of red scarified ware--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 119. Tripod bowl of red scarified ware--1/3.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 120. Oblong basin with scarified design--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 121. Large bowl with handles imitating animal
heads--1/3.]
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.
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.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 122. Jar with flat bottom and vertical bands of
incised ornament--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 123. Vase with stand and vertical incised
bands--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 124. Vase with handles, legs, and vertical
ribs--1/3.]
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 125. Tripod with owl-like heads at insertion of
legs--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 126. Tripod with legs rudely suggesting animal
forms--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 127. Heavy red vase with four mouths--1/3.]
_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.
[Illustration: Fig. 128. Vase with horizontally placed handles and
rude designs in red--½.]
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.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 129. Unpolished vase with heavy handles and
coated with soot--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 130. Round bodied red vase with unique handles
and incised ornament--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.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 131. Vase with grotesque figures attached to the
handles--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 132. Vase with upright handles and winged
lip--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.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 133. Top view of vase with winged lip--½.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 135. Vase with handles representing strange
animals--½.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: Fig. 137. Vase with handles representing animal
heads, which are hollow and contain pellets of clay--½.]
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
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.
[Illustration:
Fig. 140.
Fig. 141.
Fig. 142.
Tripod vases with shallow basins and eccentric handles--1/3.]
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.
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.
[Illustration: Fig. 143. Tripod vase of graceful shape and neat
finish--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 144. Heavy tripod vase with widely spreading
feet--1/3.]
The process of modeling these heads was about as follows: The upper end
of the leg--the head of the fish--was first rounded off, giving the
general shape; then parallel incisions were made to represent the teeth,
and around these a fillet of clay was laid, forming the lips, which were
then channeled with a sharp tool. Nodes or flattened pellets of clay,
representing the gills, snout, and eyes, were then laid on and finished
with incision-like indentations. The handles consist of bird-like heads,
with protruding eyes and long bills that curve downward and connect with
the shoulder of the vase. The body is rudely spotted with red.
[Illustration: Fig. 145. Neatly modeled vase embellished with life
forms and devices in red--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 146. High tripod vase with incised designs and
rude figures in red--1/3.]
A large, uncouth specimen is shown in Fig. 146. The legs are ponderous
and are not neatly adjusted to the vessel. A meander pattern of incised
lines encircles the neck and the body is rudely decorated with broad red
stripes.
[Illustration: Fig. 147. Handsome tripod vase with scroll
ornament--1/3.]
There is a general consistency in the use of life forms which is worthy
of notice. The fish and other creatures used, although variously
conceived and treated, are never confused. When the fish is employed no
features suggesting other animals appear and when the heads of other
creatures occupy the upper extremity of the leg all the details refer to
these creatures with uniform consistency. In Fig. 147 we have an
unusually graceful shape, decorated about the neck with scrolls and
indented fillets. The legs represent some reptilian form resembling a
lizard. The head projects from the hip and is conventionally treated.
A round fillet fixed at its middle point to the muzzle of the creature
is turned back at the sides of the head and coiled to form the eyes. The
forelegs are attached at the sides near the top and the recurved
terminal point is encircled by rings that stand for the coiled tail.
[Illustration: Fig. 148. Vase with lizard shaped legs--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 149. Vase with scroll ornament--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 150. Large vase with flaring rim and wide
spreading legs--1/3.]
There is little room for doubt as to the kind of creature represented in
the legs of the vase given in Fig. 148. The head, legs, and general
shape are characteristic of the lizard. The vessel is small, plain, and
neatly finished. In Fig. 149 the legs of the vessel, otherwise quite
plain, are surmounted by heads that seem to represent a dog or some like
animal. A series of neat vertically placed scrolls formed of round
fillets encircles the neck, and below these is a band in relief
imitating a twisted cord.
A vase of unusually striking appearance is presented in Fig. 150. It is
one of the largest tripods in the collection and is characterized by a
high widely expanded lip and a long conical body and by legs of unusual
size and conformation. Small animal figures are perched upon the
projecting hips. The surface of the vessel is rudely finished and is
much blackened by smoke about the upper part of the legs and the body.
A unique use of the animal form is illustrated in Fig. 151, which shows
a large fragment of one of these tripods. The figure of an alligator,
modeled with a great deal of spirit, is attached to the side of the
vessel, resting partly upon the leg and extending upward obliquely to
the lip. A similar figure upon the opposite side of the same vase is
represented as grasping the form of a man or boy in its formidable
looking jaws.
[Illustration: Fig. 151. Fragment of a tripod vase embellished with
the figure of an alligator.]
The alligator, rarely employed in this group of ware, is freely used in
other groups and was probably a creature of importance in the mythology
of Chiriqui.
In one case only, so far as I have seen, is the human form employed in
the supports of these vessels, and in that case, as will be seen in
Fig. 152, the result is extremely grotesque. The shape of the basin is
good and the thick, rounded lip and most of the surface are carefully
polished. A disconnected meander of incised lines encircles the rather
high neck, and parts of the body and its attached features are painted
red. As usual this color was applied along with the slip and in
polishing has become much mixed up with it, giving a mottled effect. The
handles take the form of curious human-appearing figures which sit
against the constricted neck, their heads supporting the rim and their
feet resting upon the shoulder of the vessel. In one case the hands are
held tightly against the lower part of the face and in the other they
are bound together against the chin by a serpent-like cord of clay. The
hollow figures forming the legs of the vase are as grotesque as could
well be imagined. There is no head whatever, and the outlandish features
are placed upon the front of the upper part of the body. The arms and
hands take the conventional position characteristic of the statuary of
the isthmian states and the only traces of costume are bands about the
wrists and a girdle encircling the lower part of the body.
[Illustration: Fig. 152. Vase supported by grotesque human
figures--1/3.]
I add, in Fig. 153, one more example, a large, full bodied vase, which,
more decidedly perhaps than any of the foregoing, proclaims its
relationship to the preceding group. If the three rather clumsy legs
were knocked off there would remain a large beautifully shaped and
finished vase, with a constricted but flaring rim not in any way
distinguishable from those of the preceding group. The legs in this case
are less perfectly adapted to the vessel than in the other examples, as
if the potter, skillful in modeling the vessel, had only recently
undertaken to add the tripod. The slit in the outer face of the leg is
unusually wide and the inclosed ball is three-fourths of an inch in
diameter. The most remarkable feature of this vessel is the pair of
unique figures affixed to the upper surface of the body near the lip,
and which would seem to be intended to represent semihuman monsters. The
arms and legs are contorted and serpent-like in appearance and terminate
in most cases in heads of serpents instead of in hands and feet. The
attitude is expressive of agony or horror. It seems to me probable that,
contrary to the rule in primitive art, these strange figures do not
embody any well defined or serious conception, but are rather
exhibitions of the fancy of the potter. They occupy small unpainted
panels, which are finished in neat incised patterns. The remaining
surface is a bright red.
[Illustration: Fig. 153. Round bodied vase embellished with figures
of monsters--1/3.]
It may be noted, in recapitulation, that these vases, although
elaborately modeled and often well finished, are rudely decorated and
very generally show use over fire; that the legs, though often graceful
and well proportioned, are in many cases clumsily adjusted to the body,
giving a decidedly unsatisfactory result as a whole. This ware was
devoted to domestic uses, or, if otherwise, in all probability to the
burning of incense. Animal forms are freely employed, but in a rather
rude way. The fish form is more generally used than any other, and is in
all cases embodied in the legs of the vessel, the head joining the body
of the vessel and the tail resting upon the ground. These
representations exhibit all grades of elaboration from the fairly well
modeled to the merest suggestion of animal character--any one feature,
as the mouth, the eye, the fins, or the tail, being alone a sufficient
suggestion of the creature to satisfy the potter and keep alive the idea
of the fish. Other animal forms are employed in modeling the legs, and
exhibit equally varying degrees of elaboration, and it is worthy of
especial note that creatures are not confused or confounded, so far as I
can discover, at any stage of the simplifying process--that a fish is
still purely a fish if nothing is left to represent it but a node or an
incision. There is no apparent relationship between the animal forms
forming the legs and those attached to the body or to the rim of the
vessel.
The pottery of the two groups already presented exhibits characters so
uniform throughout that there need be no hesitation in placing them
together as the work of one community and of one period of practice of
the art; but between these groups and those that follow there is a wide
gap. The differences are so marked that, if they had come from widely
separated localities, very intimate relationships would not have been
suggested.
[Illustration: Fig. 154. Cup with incurved rim and life form
ornamentation--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 155. Cup with widely expanded rim and
constricted neck--½.]
_The maroon group._--For the want of a better name I have called the
group first to be presented the maroon group, on account of its color.
Our collection comprises not more than a dozen pieces of this ware. The
locality from which they come is called Los Tenajos by Mr. McNiel, but
he has not distinguished them in any way from the other varieties, and I
am therefore unable to say whether or not they occur together with
others or under identical conditions. In symmetry of outline, diversity
of shape, and cleverness of modeling this ware takes a high rank, but
there is no painted ornament. The surfaces are usually well polished,
and all exposed parts have received a coat of purplish maroon colored
paint. The paste contains a great deal of fine sand, and is yellowish
upon the surface and generally quite dark within the mass. Considering
the small number of pieces, the scale of form is remarkably varied.
There are plain bowls with incurved rims and with flaring rims, vases
with round bases, with annular stands, and with tripods, and life forms
wholly unique. Perhaps the most usual form is that shown in Fig. 154,
which represents a small cup with incurved rim and a narrow annular
base. The shoulder is embellished with three groups of small nodes, of
four each, which refer to some animal form. In other similar vases the
form of the creature is given in more realistic guise. A larger vase,
similar to this in most respects, has a rounded contour and incurved
lip. The periphery is supplied with four plain nodes. Another, shown in
Fig. 155, has a wide recurved rim, a character seen to equally good
advantage in some of the following figures. In the small vase
represented in Fig. 156 the treatment of animal forms in connection with
the body of the vessel is shown to good advantage. The head, legs, and
tail of what is probably intended to represent an alligator, modeled in
the round, are attached to the periphery of the basin, and heads of some
mammal are used for legs.
[Illustration: Fig. 156. Small tripod cup with animal features in
high relief--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 157. Handsome vase supported by three grotesque
figures--½.]
A most interesting tripod is shown in Fig. 157. The bowl is beautifully
modeled, is symmetrical, and has a flaring rim, rounded and polished on
the upper surface and drooping slightly at the outer margin. The body is
hemispherical and is supported by three grotesque anthropomorphic
figures that strongly remind us of the "mud head" masks used in one of
the dances of the Zuñi Indians. The head is a rounded ball, upon which
pellets of clay are stuck to represent the features. The arms are set
against the sides of the body, as in other isthmian specimens, the hips
are excessively large, the legs straight, and the feet small and united
to form the foot of the vessel. Nearly the entire surface is finished in
a dark purplish red paint, which appears to have been polished down as a
slip. A companion piece is considerably smaller and the supporting
figures are very grotesque and somewhat crouched, as if bearing a very
heavy weight.
A number of large basins or caldrons, collected in Chiriqui, and
fragments of vessels of extraordinary size resemble this ware in
material, color, and finish. The rims of the larger pieces are upwards
of an inch thick and the walls are in cases three-fourths of an inch
thick. A number of large vessels of similar ware now in the National
Museum were collected in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.
_The red line group._--The group of vessels to which I have given this
name is represented by about a dozen specimens, which indicate a wide
range of form and exhibit a number of unique characters.
The localities from which they are derived extend from 8° 20´ to 8° 40´
north latitude and from 82° 40´ to 82° 50´ west longitude.
The paste is of about the usual composition, but takes a variety of
tints on burning, a light gray orange prevailing. The finish of the
surface is about the same as in other groups. The decoration consists of
life forms and their conventional representatives in relief and of
carelessly executed geometric designs, the pigment used being a bright,
sienna-like red.
As will be seen by reference to the illustrations, the forms are varied
and pleasing, but for the most part repeat outlines common to other
groups. The handles, single or in twos, are upright loops, and the
tripods are in nearly all cases looped or annular, an unusual feature in
other groups.
I present three illustrations, two of which were given in outline in the
introductory pages. The first (Fig. 158) has a well proportioned,
somewhat globular body, supported by three legs formed of looped bands
of clay. On the shoulder are two small animal forms, probably meant for
frogs. The spaces between these are occupied by panel-like arrangements
of red lines. The surface is yellowish gray in color, excepting where
blackened in the baking. The paste has cracked in firing, a feature
observed in a number of pieces belonging to this group.
[Illustration: Fig. 158. Vase decorated with figures of frogs and
devices in red--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 159. Vase of unique shape and life form
ornamentation--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 160. Two handled vase with life form and linear
decoration--½.]
A unique piece is represented in Fig. 159. The single handle is a high
projecting loop and connects with the margin of the orifice, which rises
to meet it, and with the lower part of the shoulder. An animal form,
apparently anthropomorphic, is embodied in this vessel. The upper part
of the vessel, separated by a slight constriction from the body proper,
represents the head of the creature, the nose, mouth, and eyes appearing
on the front and the ears at the sides. A few incised lines seen upon
the inner surface of the handle stand for the hair. Upon the shoulder
are two sharp nodes, standing for the breasts, and between these are
markings that represent a necklace. A rude design in red lines covers
the upper surface of the body.
A graceful shape is illustrated in Fig. 160. The paste is a grayish
orange on the surface and is rather dark within the thicker portions of
the walls. The under surface is much blackened by use over fire. An
interesting feature is seen upon the handles at the highest point of the
loop. Instead of the single indented transverse fillet observed in
similar forms in other groups, we have two such features, set about an
inch apart, and between them are two indented nodes which stand for
eyes, and a number of indentations within the space refer to other
features of the animal suggested. Upon the shoulder and collar of the
vessel are carelessly drawn geometric patterns in red lines.
[Illustration: Fig. 161. Small tripod vase with animal figures in
white--½.]
_The white line group._--One group of vases, of which we have but four
pieces, is characterized by the use of a whitish pigment in decoration.
Not one of the collections that I have seen is well supplied with this
class of ware, and hence little can be said of its varieties of form and
ornament. All are tripods, but the shapes of the vessels vary
considerably. Two small pieces are from latitude 8° 40´ north and
longitude 82° 32´ west. One of these is shown in Fig. 161. They are
small, rather carelessly finished tripods, with narrow necks and
flattened bodies. The inner surface of the orifice and the under side of
the body are painted a dull red. The remainder of the surface is a warm
reddish gray, the color of the slip and the paste. The legs in the piece
figured represent some small creature with a rabbit-like face and a body
which tapers gradually to the base. Two feet are placed near the middle
of the body, which is striped transversely with white lines. A white
collar crosses the neck and the eyes are white dots. The upper surface
of the vase is embellished with two animal figures, executed in a white
earthy pigment. They may refer to the alligator, but the drawing is too
conventional to admit of full identification. The companion piece is a
little larger, and the upper surface is decorated with three groups of
broad white stripes, bordered by rows of dots, which extend from the
base of the neck to the periphery of the body. The legs are similar to
those of the other piece. The little animal figure fixed to the upper
end or hip is identical with that seen in the following illustration.
[Illustration: Fig. 162. Shapely vase with designs in white
paint--½.]
The large tripod vase presented in Fig. 162 is distinct in many ways
from anything in the collection and is remarkable for symmetry of form
and neatness of finish. The body is a long, symmetrical cone and the
legs are long, straight cylinders, neatly rounded off to a point below.
A thick rim projects at a sharp angle and is rounded up toward the
margin. The legs are hollow, and through two pairs of lateral slits a
number of small pellets can be seen, which rattle when the vase is
moved. Rudely modeled little animals, with erect ears, large feet, and
conical tails, are fixed to the upper end of the legs. The ground color,
the slip, and the paste are of a reddish gray cast. The greater part of
the surface seems to have been painted red, but the vase has been used
over fire to such an extent that little of the original color remains.
The body and the legs have been decorated with geometric patterns in a
whitish pigment that can be scraped off like indurated clay. The little
animal figures were also painted white. A vase very similar to this,
from which the legs have been removed, and the surface smoothed down,
has a longer and more graceful body and a similar rim. Another piece,
exhibiting similar yet even more strongly marked characteristics of
shape, belongs to the collection of Mr. J. B. Stearns.
_The lost color group._--In number of specimens this group is second to
none, excepting perhaps that given under the head of terra cotta ware.
Nine-tenths of the pieces may be classed as bottles, which have rather
short, wide necks and globular bodies, slightly conical below and in
cases flattened above. They range in size from one inch to nearly a foot
in height, but the average capacity is not above a pint. Aside from the
bottles there is a wide range of shapes. There are shallow bowls and
various complex and compound forms. Animal forms are associated with all
classes of vessels. Tripod supports are limited to rather modest
proportions, and handles, although often present and greatly varied in
style, do not constitute an important feature. These vessels are
remarkably well preserved and exhibit few traces of abrasion by use or
of blackening over fire. The paste is fine grained and usually of a
light yellow gray tint throughout.
The surface was finished either in a light colored slip or in a strong
red pigment. In some cases the light tint was used exclusively and again
the red covered the entire surface, but more frequently the two were
used together, occupying distinct areas of the same vessel and forming
the groundwork for decorative patterns in other colors. They were
usually polished down with very great care, giving a glistening surface,
upon which the markings of the tool can still be seen.
I have already described the methods of decoration, but may review them
briefly here. The bright red color, which forms such a prominent and
pleasing feature, is, as stated above, only a ground tint and is not
used in any case in the delineation of design. The actual patterns, so
varied and interesting, were worked out in a pigment or fluid now
totally lost, but which has left traces of its former existence through
its effect upon the ground colors. In beginning the decoration, a thin
black color, probably of vegetal character, was carried over the area to
be treated, and upon this the figures were traced in the lost color.
When this color (if it was indeed a pigment, and not merely an acid or
"taking out" medium) disappeared, it carried with it the black tint
beneath, exposing the light gray and red tints of the ground and leaving
the interstices in black. The interstitial figures thus formed are often
of such a character as to be taken for the true design. In examining the
decoration of this ware it is essential that this fact should be kept in
mind, as otherwise great confusion will result.
The nature of the materials employed cannot be determined. Applied to
the polished surface, they were easily removed. The black ground tint is
now easily rubbed off and in most cases is much injured by handling or
by contact with the soil. The lost color may have been similar to the
white, argillaceous pigment used by the Aztecs, which has in many cases
partially or wholly disappeared, leaving its marks upon the ground
either by deadening the polish or by removing portions of the slip and
the paste upon which it was laid, presenting the ornament in intaglio.
The designs are infinitely varied in appearance and arrangement, yet are
far from having a mixed or heterogeneous character. It is probably our
lack of knowledge of the origin and history of the elements and their
derivations that causes confusion. Both geometric and imitative elements
abound and are blended in perfectly graded series. The treatment of
geometric figures is peculiar to Chiriqui and in many respects is
peculiar to this group of ware. Classic forms, such as the meander, the
scroll, and the fret, rarely occur and are barely recognizable. It
appears from a close study of all the work that motives derived from
nature have greatly leavened the whole body of decoration. This matter
will receive attention as the examples are presented and will be treated
with greater care in a succeeding section.
Plastic decoration, aside from the life forms so commonly associated
with the body of the vase and with the handles and legs, is not of
importance. The high degree of polish required in this ware tended to
simplify all relieved features.
The presence of life forms in relief has produced important
modifications in the appearance and the arrangement of the painted
devices, and in many cases there is a manifest correlation between the
plastic and the painted forms: as, for example, when the body of the
vase was thought of as the body of the animal, the extremities of which
were placed upon its sides, the colored figures carried out the idea of
the creature by imitating in a more or less conventional way the
markings of the body. This will be understood through reference to the
examples presented in the following pages.
I will present, first, a series of bottles, selecting at the beginning
those decorated in the more purely geometric style and gradually
approaching those upon which animal forms are treated in a literal
manner. The few pieces selected for illustration are totally inadequate
to the proper representation of the group and must be regarded only as
average specimens, more or less typical in character.
I give first a number of examples in which the decorative devices are
arranged in horizontal zones. In Fig. 163 broad bands of ornament,
consisting of scalloped and plain lines, encircle the neck and the body
of the vessel. In finishing this piece the whole surface was painted a
rich red and highly polished; then a black coat was applied, covering
the body from the lip to the base of the design; and finally the
delineating fluid was applied, removing the black, as shown in the
narrow lines, the sharply dentate bands, and the broad, plain band
between. The second example (Fig. 164) varies somewhat in shape and
design, but is identical in color and manipulation. The dark figures are
merely the interspaces, although they appear at first glance to have
been intended for the design proper.
[Illustration: Fig. 163. Small red bottle with horizontal bands of
ornament consisting of plain and scalloped lines--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 164. Small red bottle with encircling geometric
devices--½.]
In a numerous series of vessels the decorated bands are divided into
compartments or panels, often four in number, which spaces are occupied
by lines and figures of greatly diversified characters. In the example
shown in Fig. 165 the ground color of the principal zone is in the light
yellow gray tint of the slip, the remainder being red. This lends
brilliancy to the effect.
[Illustration: Fig. 165. Bottle with zone occupied by geometric
devices--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 166. Bottle with broad zone containing geometric
figures--½.]
In the vase shown in Fig. 166 the treatment is in a general way the
same, but the compartments are triangular and are separated by lines
that form a disconnected meander. An additional example is given in
Fig. 167. Here the principal zone is expanded to cover the whole upper
surface of the vase, which was finished in the light colored slip to
receive it. The principal lines are arranged to give the effect of rays
when viewed from above, but as seen in the cut they give the effect of a
carelessly connected meander. The groups of lines are bordered by series
of dots. A great number of pieces are painted in this style. The effect
is varied by altering the shape of the interspaces or by modifying the
number and relationship of the lines, dots, and figures.
[Illustration: Fig. 167. Bottle with decoration of meandered
lines--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 168. Bottle with arched panels and geometric
devices--½.]
Somewhat similar also in general effect to the last example is the work
upon another important series of vases. Instead of the simple meandered
or zigzag arrangement of parts, two of the dividing lines of the zone
run tangent to the neck of the vase on opposite sides, forming arched
panels and leaving upright panels between. In the example presented in
Fig. 168 the arched areas are filled in with lattice-like arrangements
of lines. In others we have dots, checkers, and varied geometric
combinations, and in very many cases the figures are derived from life
forms. The same may be said of the devices that occupy the spaces
between the arches. The piece shown in Fig. 169 exhibits a somewhat more
elaborate treatment, but the motives and arrangements are much the same.
These vessels are peculiar in the treatment of the ground. The entire
surface is red, with the exception of narrow bands of light ground
color, which outline the arches and encircle the periphery. In other
cases these bands are red, the remainder of the ground being light.
Series of lines are drawn from the lower border of the zone to the
center of the base of the body.
[Illustration: Fig. 169. Bottle with arched panels and elaborate
devices--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 170. Vase with rosette-like panels--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 170_a_. Ornament from vase shown in Fig. 170.]
In a small group of vases we have a radiate ornament within the arches
and in a few cases the arched lines are continued down around the base
of the vessel, forming vertical circles in which rosette-like designs
are formed by repeating the radiate figures in an inverted position
below the peripheral line. The elaboration in these circular inclosures
is very remarkable, as will be seen by reference to the three examples
given in Figs. 170, 171, and 172. In the first case the peripheral line
is a red band nearly one-half an inch wide and the rays appear in groups
above and below it. Within the four broader black rays (Fig. 170_a_),
which are the interspaces or remnants of the ground, groups of lines
have been drawn, in most cases curved at the inner ends like an opening
frond and accompanied in all cases by series of dots. An examination of
a number of vessels shows various degrees of convention. It is clear,
however, that these devices, showing curves, hooks, and dots, are not of
technical or mechanical origin, but that they refer to delineative
originals of which they are survivals; but we must remain in the dark as
to what the originals were or what was the precise nature of the idea
associated with them in the mind of the decorator. Another question
refers to the arrangement of the parts of the design in the five
preceding figures. The distribution of the designs is a matter of great
interest, and much may be learned from a close study of these specimens.
[Illustration: Fig. 171. Vase with rosette-like panels--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 172. Vase with rosette-like panels--½.]
Horizontal zones appear in the ceramic decoration of all countries, and
result, no doubt, from technical causes; but the division of zones into
compartments of peculiar shape is due to other influences. I believe the
peculiar arched arrangement here seen results from the employment of
plastic features, such as handles or life forms. The ancient races were
accustomed to conceive of the vessel as the body of an animal, an idea
originating in the association of mythologic conceptions with art. The
head and the tail of the particular creature thought of were attached to
opposite sides of the vase and consequently interfered with the original
zonal arrangement of the design where it existed, or where it did not
exist the sides were filled with devices representing the markings of
the creature's body. The decoration now consisted of four parts, two in
the round or in relief and two in color, the former occupying small
areas and the latter wide areas, as seen in Fig. 173. The same result
would spring from the use of two handles, such a common feature in this
ware. The lateral spaces reached from the periphery to the base of the
neck and were most readily and naturally separated from the plastic
features by lines extending across the shoulder tangent to the neck and
forming arches (Fig. 174). In time the plastic features, being difficult
to manage, would gradually decrease in boldness of modeling and finally
disappear, leaving a space upon which the life form could be symbolized
in color (Fig. 175). Now it happens that in this collection we have a
series of examples illustrating all stages of this change, the first,
the middle, and the final steps being shown in the above figures.
[Illustration:
Fig. 173.
Fig. 174.
Fig. 175.
Theoretical origin of the arched panels.]
[Illustration: Fig. 176. Vase decorated with conventional figures of
alligators--½.]
In multiplying these vessels the original forms and associations of
decorative features are necessarily to some extent lost sight of; the
panels change in shape, number, and relationships; and devices
originally appropriate to particular spaces are employed
indiscriminately, so that the uninitiated see nothing but confusion. All
devices are delineations of or have more or less definite reference to
the creature or spirit associated with the vessel.
[Illustration:
Fig. 177.
Fig. 178.
Portions of decorated zones illustrating treatment of life forms.]
[Illustration: Fig. 179. Vase decorated with highly conventional
life forms--½.]
I will now pass over the many hundreds of pieces with designs too
conventional to furnish a clew to the original animal forms, yet still
suggesting their existence, to those in which the life forms can be
traced with ease or in which they are delineated with a much nearer
approach to nature. The manner of introducing life forms into the panels
of the encircling zones is illustrated in the following figures. In the
vase shown in Fig. 176 there are four panels, two short and two long,
separated by vertical bands. The short panels are black, but the long
ones are occupied by rudely drawn figures of alligators, some of which
are very curiously abbreviated. At the right hand in the cut we have
simply the head with its strong recurved jaws and notched crest. The
principal figure at the left is a two headed alligator, the body being
straight and supplied with two feet. The ground finish of the decorated
band is in the light gray tint and the alligator figures and vertical
septa now appear in that color. The ground of the remainder of the
surface is red. It will be seen that in this case the panel outlines are
rather elaborate and that the neck and base are striped in a way to
enhance considerably the beauty of the vessel. Additional examples of
animal devices are given in Figs. 177 and 178. The significance of the
curious figure seen in the first is not easily determined, although we
do not hesitate to assign to it an animal origin. There is a suggestion
of two sitting figures placed back to back between the upright serrate
lines. In the second piece, which is from another vessel, the space
between the serrate lines is occupied by a sketchy figure which, in the
phraseology of heraldry, may be likened to a monkey rampant.
[Illustration: Fig. 179_a_. Design from vase shown in Fig. 179.]
[Illustration: Fig. 180. Vase decorated with highly conventional
life forms--½.]
In Figs. 179 and 180 I present very interesting examples in which the
arched panels are used. In the first the compartments are occupied by a
favorite Chiriquian motive, which consists of groups of lines curled up
at one end like unfolding fronds. The whole group represents a very
highly conventionalized animal figure (Fig. 179_a_). The devices
occupying the upright panels take the place of the animal heads shown in
several preceding figures. In the arched panels shown in Fig. 180 we
have the frond-like motive treated in a manner to make it pretty certain
that a reptilian form is intended. These figures are fully and
systematically presented in a succeeding section.
Many of these globular vases are unusually handsome. The polished ground
is red or is varied with stripes or panels of the whitish slip. Over
this ground the whole surface was painted black and then the lost color
was employed to work out the design. The coiled figures were produced by
drawing the lines in the lost color. The interspaces were then roughly
gone over with the same pigment in such a way as to leave the figures
inclosed within rather uneven black borders. The presentation of these
ornaments brings me naturally to the consideration of a number of very
puzzling forms which, if taken alone, must inevitably be referred to
vegetal originals. In Fig. 181 we have a handsomely shaped vessel,
finished in a polished red ground and decorated in the usual manner. In
the main zone--here rather high up on the vase--there is a series of
upright figures resembling stalks or stems with scroll-like branches
springing from the sides. The stalks are probably the septa of the
panels and the leaves are the usual reptilian symbols. About the widest
part of the body of the vase is a band of ornament probably representing
an animal.
[Illustration: Fig. 181. Vase decorated with highly conventional
life forms--½.]
A still more remarkable ornament is shown in Fig. 182. The decorated
zone of the vessel from which this is taken is divided into three
panels, each of which contains stem-like figures terminating in flower
shaped heads and uniting in a most remarkable way animal derivatives and
vegetal forms. I am inclined to the view that here, as in the preceding
case, the resemblance to a vegetal growth is purely adventitious.
[Illustration: Fig. 182. Decorated panel with devices resembling
vegetal growths, but probably of animal origin--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 183. Example of vase of unusual shape--½.]
[Illustration:
Fig. 184.
Fig. 185.
Examples of vases of unusual shapes--½.]
In striking contrast with the globular forms just given are the angular
outlines presented in the following illustrations. The first is
flattened above, the body being much expanded horizontally and having a
sharp peripheral angle. Upon the shoulder, occupying the places of and
probably standing for animal heads, are two cruciform nodes, about which
the scroll-like decorations of the upper surface are coiled. We see by
this that in the mind of the potter a correlation existed between the
plastic and the painted devices even in these conventional decorations.
The second illustration represents a neatly finished bottle, with
upright sides and conical base, upon the shoulder of which minute animal
figures are perched. The painted design is nearly obliterated. The third
example is unique. The sides are upright and the bottom is flat. The
ornament occupies the entire surface and is divided into two sections or
zones by a red band about the middle.
[Illustration: Fig. 186. Double vessel with high arched handle--½.]
Complex and compound forms are comparatively rare. A double vessel is
shown in Fig. 186, and a second, varying somewhat from the first in
shape and ornamentation, is presented in the succeeding figure. Vessels
of this form are always small, but are neatly constructed and finished
with much care. The strong handles are more or less arched and connect
the inner margins of the two lips. The bodies of the twin cups are
closely joined, but the two compartments are not connected.
[Illustration: Fig. 187. Double vessel with arched handle--½.]
It seems impossible to present a satisfactory series of the plastic
features characteristic of this group of products without extending this
paper inordinately. Handles, legs, and life forms are varied and
interesting; they are not so boldly treated, however, as in some of the
other groups. This is a result perhaps of the unusual degree of polish
given to all parts of the surface preparatory to the application of
designs in color, the processes tending to subdue and simplify the
salient features.
[Illustration: Fig. 188. Vase embellished with life forms, heads in
relief and other parts in color--½.]
With reference to life forms it has already been pointed out that the
painted figures generally imitate or typify animal forms, and it is
important to note that these figures are in very many cases used as
auxiliaries to plastic features in the development of particular
conceptions. This is shown to advantage in Fig. 188, which illustrates a
small, well formed bottle, having two large human-like heads attached to
opposite sides of the body. There are no other plastic features, but the
heads are supplied with arms and legs, rudely expressed in black lines,
which are really the interspaces of the lines drawn in the lost color.
These painted parts occupy the zone usually devoted to decoration and,
as will be seen by reference to the cut, resemble closely the radiate or
meandered figures seen in vases of the class shown in Fig. 167. The arms
are joined to the lower part of the head and extend upward to the neck
of the vessel, where they terminate in rudely suggested fingers. Rising
to the right and left of the arms are legs terminating as do the arms.
A double row of dots is carried along each member, and thus we have a
suggestion of the relation of the dots and dotted lines, seen in more
highly conventional forms, to the markings of the creature represented
or symbolized. The grotesque faces are covered with lines which follow
the forms as if imitating markings upon the skin. Another example,
equally suggestive, also employing an animal form, is shown in Fig. 189.
It is a cup, mounted upon three feet, which has attached to one side the
head of a peccary, modeled with more than usual skill. The ears of the
animal appear at the sides of the vessel and the tail is opposite the
head. The lines and dots seen upon the head are carried along the sides
of the vessel as far as the ears and undoubtedly represent the markings
of the animal's skin. Behind the ears the markings are different in
character and purely geometric. A view of the under side of the vessel
is shown in Fig. 190 and illustrates a treatment characteristic of the
tripod vases of this class. In other cases, instead of fixing the head
of the animal upon one side and other members of the body upon other
sides, two heads, or two complete creatures, are placed opposite each
other.
[Illustration: Fig. 189. Vase modeled to represent a peccary--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 190. Under surface of vase shown in Fig. 189.]
[Illustration: Fig. 191. Small vessel with human figures in high
relief and geometric color decoration--½.]
I present next (Fig. 191) a piece in which there is no recognizable
relationship between the painted and the plastic features. It is a small
tripod cup with upright walls, upon which two characteristic Chiriquian
human figures, male and female, are fixed. The painted figures upon the
sides of the vessel are geometric, but refer possibly to some character
or attribute of the modeled figures or are the survivals of figures
belonging to vessels of this shape or style before the life forms were
associated with them. The legs, however, so far as can be determined,
are not related to the human motive, as they are modeled and painted to
imitate the heads of alligators.
I shall now present a few shallow bowls or pans mounted upon tripods.
They vary in dimensions from a few inches in diameter to a foot or more
and are strongly made, symmetrically formed, and neatly finished. The
polished surfaces are mainly red. The designs were executed in the usual
way in the lost color, upon a black ground, and are confined chiefly to
the exterior surface. The alligator is the favorite motive, and in a
number of cases is quite graphically, although still conventionally,
rendered. As in the preceding examples, the animal heads represented in
the legs do not always correspond to the creatures embodied in the
painted decoration.
[Illustration: Fig. 192. Tripod cup, with figures of the
alligator--½.]
In Fig. 192 we have a representative example of moderate size and
ordinary finish. The decorated band is divided into panels, three of
which are long and contain figures of the alligator. The other three are
short and are filled with conventional devices, related perhaps to that
animal. The legs are apparently intended to resemble the heads of
alligators. A large piece, nearly twelve inches in diameter, is very
similar in shape and decoration, but the legs resemble puma heads.
The specimen shown in Fig. 193 is extremely well made and differs
decidedly from the preceding. The sides are upright and the lip is
recurved and thick. The legs represent some animal form with thick body,
eyes at the top, and a tail-like appendage below that turns up and
connects with the side of the body. The form of the bowl is symmetrical
and the surface carefully finished and polished. The exterior design is
divided into panels, as in the preceding case; the figures are simple
and geometric. The inside of the upright portion of the wall is
decorated with vertical lines and bands and the bottom is covered with
an octopus-like figure, now partially obliterated.
[Illustration: Fig. 193. Large shallow tripod vase, with geometric
decoration--½.]
The remarkable example shown in Fig. 194 illustrates a number of the
points suggested in the preceding pages. It is a large bottle of the
usual contour and color, mounted upon three high legs, which are slit on
the inner surface and contain movable balls of clay. Two handles, placed
at opposite sides of the neck, represent human or anthropomorphic
figures. These figures and the neck and base of the vessel were finished
in the red slip. The broad zone extending from the neck to some distance
below the periphery was finished in the gray slip, with the exception of
the frames of two panels beneath the handles and the foundation lines of
two large figures of alligators, which are in red. The surface, when
thus treated, was well polished and then a coat of black was laid upon
it, and upon this details of the designs were drawn in the lost color.
The figures of the alligators exhibit some striking peculiarities. The
hooked snout, the hanging jaw, the row of dotted notches extending along
the back, and especially the general curve of the body are worthy of
attention. These features are seen to better advantage in the series of
vases presented in the following section.
Belonging to this group are many whistles, needlecases, and rattles, all
of which are described under separate headings upon subsequent pages.
[Illustration: Fig. 194. Large bottle shaped vase, with high tripod
and alligator designs--½.]
_The alligator group._--The group of ware to which I give the above name
is perhaps the most interesting in the collection, although numerically
inferior to some of those already presented. Its decoration is of a very
striking character and may serve to throw much light upon the origin and
evolution of certain linear devices, as it illustrates with more than
usual clearness the processes of modification.
I will first present a representative series of the vessels, in order
that they may in a measure tell their own story; yet it is not possible
without the direct aid of a full series of the objects themselves to
convey a clear and comprehensive notion of the metamorphoses through
which the forms and decorations pass.
This group, like that last described, is composed chiefly of bottle
shaped vases with globular bodies and short, wide necks; but there is no
danger of confusion. By placing a series from each group side by side a
number of marked differences may be noted. In the lost color group the
neck is decided in form, the body is usually somewhat flattened above
and is distinctly conical below, and the prevailing color is a rich dark
red. In the alligator group the body is more nearly globular and the
curves of the whole outline are more gentle; the prevailing color is a
light yellowish gray. The reds and the blacks, which are used chiefly in
the figures, are confined to rather limited areas.
Besides the bottle shaped vases, there is a limited series of the usual
forms, and a few pieces exhibit unique features. The management of life
forms is especially instructive. Handles are rare and legs are usually
not of especial interest, as they are plain cones or at most but rude
imitations of the legs of animals. Shallow vessels are invariably
mounted upon tripods and a few of the deeper forms are so equipped.
Usually the sizes are rather small; but we occasionally observe a bottle
having the capacity of a gallon or more. The materials do not differ
greatly from those employed in other groups of ware. The paste is fine
grained and light in color, sometimes reddish near the surface, and
where quite thick is darker within the mass. A slip of light yellowish
hue was in most cases applied to the entire surface. A red ochery
pigment was in some instances used in finishing the lip and the base of
the body, and occasionally the red pigment was applied as a base, a kind
of sketch foundation for the decoration proper. For example, when the
alligator was to appear upon the side of the vessel, the principal forms
were traced in broad lines of the red color, and these were polished
down with the slips. When the polishing process was complete, the
details of the figure, were drawn in black and in cases partially in
red. Black was the chief delineating color, the red having been confined
to broad areas, to outlines, and to the enframing of panels. In
execution, therefore, there is a decided contrast with the preceding
group, and it may be added that there is an equally strong contrast in
both treatment and subject matter of the ornament. The motives are
derived almost wholly from life forms and retain for the most part
features that suggest their origin. The subjects are chiefly reptilian,
the alligator appearing in a majority of cases, and hence the name of
the group.
I present first a few examples of plain bottles which have no extraneous
plastic features. The decorations are arranged in two ways, in zones
about the upper part of the body or in circular areas, generally four in
number, equidistantly placed about the shoulder of the vessel.
[Illustration: Fig. 195. Large bottle, with narrow zone containing
figures of the alligator--1/3.]
An example of the first style is given in Fig. 195, which represents the
largest piece in this group of ware. The form is symmetrical and very
pleasing to the eye. The surface is not very highly polished and shows
the marks of the polishing implement distinctly over the entire surface.
Two black lines encircle the flat upper surface of the rim and the outer
margin is red. The neck and a narrow zone at the upper part of the body
are finished in a cream colored slip and the body below this is red. The
narrow band of ornament occupies the lower margin of the light colored
zone and consists of five encircling lines in black, three of which are
above and two below a band one-half an inch wide, in which five much
simplified figures of alligators are drawn. Besides these figures there
are two vertical septum-like bands. Each of these consists of three
lines bordered by dots, which probably have some relationship with the
alligator. The decorated zone of these vessels is divided in various
ways into panels, some of which are triangular, while others are
rectangular or arched. The latter form is seen in Fig. 196. Five arches,
having no border line above, are occupied by abbreviated alligator
devices. The number of compartments ranges in other specimens from two
to a dozen or more. They are filled in with various devices, to be
described in detail further on.
[Illustration: Fig. 196. Vase with decorated zone containing four
arched panels--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 197. Vase with four round nodes upon which
animal devices are painted--½.]
A very peculiar form of decoration consists of circular or rosette-like
ornaments, such as are shown in Fig. 197. Four slightly relieved nodes
an inch or more in diameter are placed upon the shoulder of the vessel.
These are encircled by red lines which inclose two black lines each, and
within these are peculiar devices in black. Other vessels furnish
figures of greatly diversified characters, most of which evidently refer
to life forms. A full series of these is given in a subsequent section
of this paper, where the origin of the nodes and the manner in which the
painted figures probably became associated with them will be fully set
forth.
[Illustration: Fig. 198. Vases of varied form and decoration.]
In the series of outlines presented in Fig. 198, we have some of the
varieties of form and decoration of both the ordinary bottles and the
plainer tripod cups. Each example presents certain features of
particular interest. The handsome little bottle (_d_) with the plastic
ornament about the neck and the zone of geometric ornament in black and
red lines is unique. The double necked bottle is an unusual form and its
decoration consists of a strangely conceived representation of the
alligator. The tripod vases are worthy of close attention: the piece
illustrated in _b_ has a zone of ornament separated into three parts by
vertical spaces, each part being enframed in black. The sections are
divided by red lines into three panels, each of which contains a
conventional figure of an alligator in black. The piece shown in _a_ is
unique in its decoration. Four angular fret links in black are inclosed
in as many panels, bordered by red and separated by blank spaces. These
fret links, as I shall show further on, probably refer to or symbolize
the alligator. The legs of the cups are all conical and are marked with
short transverse lines in black, which have a direct reference to the
markings of the animal to which the vase was consecrated. A careful
study of the preceding illustrations leads to the conclusion that in the
mind of the potters there was a close and important relationship between
the vessel and the reptilian forms embodied in both plastic and surface
embellishment. The series of examples which follow have a bearing upon
this point. I shall begin with that in which the creature is most
literally rendered.
[Illustration: Fig. 199. Alligator vase, with conventional
markings--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 200. Alligator vase, with conventional figures
of the alligator painted on the sides--½.]
In Fig. 199 the whole conformation of the vessel is considerably
modified through the attempt to perfect the likeness of the alligator,
whose head, tail, and legs are graphically rendered. The body, head, and
tail are covered with nodes, each of which is encircled by a black ring
and has a black dot upon the apex. Dotted rings and short strokes of
black occupy the interspaces. These devices represent the spines and
scales of the creature's skin. The legs are marked with horizontal
stripes and oval spaces at the top inclose three dots each. The general
color of the vessel is a dark brown. This piece should be compared with
the alligator whistle shown in Fig. 250.
A somewhat different treatment is shown in Fig. 200. Here the animal
form has undergone considerable modification. There are but three
legs--a concession to the conventional tripod--and the body exhibits,
instead of the nodes and the markings of the creature's skin, two
conventional drawings of the whole animal. Now, by higher and higher
degrees of convention, we come to a long series of modified results
which must be omitted for want of room. We find that the plastic
features are gradually reduced until mere nodes appear where the head
and the tail should be, and finally in the lower forms there remains but
a blank panel or a painted device, as already shown in a preceding
section. The painted devices are also reduced by degrees until all
resemblance to nature is lost and geometric devices alone remain.
I observe in this association of plastic and painted features a lack of
the perfect consistency I had learned to expect in the work of primitive
peoples. It is easy to see how, from painting the markings of the
creature's skin upon the body of the vessel, the painter should come
gradually to delineate parts of the creature or even the whole creature,
but we should not expect him to paint a creature distinct in kind from
that modeled, thus confusing or entirely separating the conceptions;
this has been done, apparently, in the vase illustrated in Fig. 202,
where the plastic form represents a puma and the painting upon the sides
seems intended for an alligator. It will be seen from the figures given
that the devices of the panels or sides do not necessarily represent the
markings of the animal's body, as in Fig. 201, but that they may refer
to the entire creature (Fig. 200) or even to what appears to be a
totally distinct creature (Fig. 202).
[Illustration: Fig. 201. Vase having the head and tail of a serpent
projecting from opposite sides of the body and connected by a
meandered design which stands for the markings of the body--½.]
If realistic or semirealistic delineations are confused in this way it
is to be expected that highly conventional derivative figures, so
numerous and varied, should be much less clearly distinguished; that
indeed there should be no certainty whatever in the reference to
originals. It is difficult to say of any particular conventional device
that it originated in the figure of the animal as a whole rather than in
some part or character of that animal or of some other animal.
[Illustration: Fig. 202. Vase representing a puma, with figures of
the alligator painted upon the sides--½.]
[Illustration: Fig. 203. Shallow vase with reptilian features in the
round and designs in red and black representing the markings of the
creature's body--½.]
A very instructive example bearing upon this subject is shown in
Fig. 203. Attached to one side of the basin is a pendent head resembling
that of a serpent or a turtle. A kind of hood overhangs the head and
extends in a ridge around the sides of the vessel, connecting with the
tail of the creature, which is also pendent and hooded. Four legs
support the vessel and are marked with transverse stripes of red and
black paint. The upper surface of the head is covered with reticulated
lines in black, and bands of conventional ornament in the same color
extend around the sides of the vessel, uniting the head with the tail of
the animal. A single band of ornament passes beneath the body, also
connecting those members. It is plain that these painted bands serve to
complete the representation of the reptile. But, as I have just shown,
they are as likely to stand for the whole creature or to be the
abbreviated representative of the whole creature as to represent merely
the markings of the body. These devices, as arranged in the zone,
resemble in a remarkable degree the conventional running scroll.
[Illustration: Fig. 204. Vase with funnel shaped mouth and square
body, supported by two grotesque figures and decorated with figures
of alligators and monkeys--½.]
I have but one more example of the alligator vases to present, but it is
perhaps the most remarkable piece in the collection (Fig. 204). It
illustrates to good advantage both the skill and the strange fancy of
these archaic potters. A large vase, having a high flaring rim and a
subcubical body, is supported by two grotesque human appearing figures,
whose backs are set against opposite ends of the vessel. The legs are
placed wide apart, thus affording a firm support. The heads of the two
figures project forward from the shoulder of the vase and are flattened
in such a way as to give long oval outlines to the crowns which are
truncated and furnished with long slit-like openings that connect
through the head with the main chamber of the vessel. The openings are
about two and a half inches long and one-eighth of an inch wide and are
surrounded by a shallow channel in the flat, well polished upper
surface. The extraordinary conformation of this part of the vessel
recalls the well known whistling vases of South America; but this piece
is too badly broken to admit of experiment to test its powers. It is
generally likened to a money box. In order to convey a clear conception
of the shape of the upper surface, I present a top view of the vessel
(Fig. 205).
[Illustration: Fig. 205. Top view of vase in Fig. 204, showing the
main orifice and the oblong openings.]
[Illustration: Fig. 206. End view of vase in Fig. 204, showing front
view of grotesque figure. The red portions of the painted figures
are outlined with dots.]
A front view of one of the supporting figures is shown in Fig. 206.
Although certainly not intended to represent a human figure with
accuracy, it is furnished with a crown, as are the figures in gold and
stone, and is covered with devices that seem to refer to costume. The
features are extremely grotesque, the nose resembling the beak of a bird
and the mouth being a mere ridge, without indications of the lips. The
face and the chest are painted with curious devices in red. The funnel
and body of the vase are decorated with subjects that seem to have no
connection with the plastic features and no relation to one another in
subject matter. The upper panel, surrounded by a framework of black and
red lines, contains the figure of an alligator much simplified and
taking a peculiar position on account of the shape of the space into
which it is crowded. The figure occupying the body panel is that of a
very strangely conventionalized two tailed monkey and is enframed by a
wide red line. On the shoulder of the vessel is an ornament consisting
of a number of angular hooks attached to a straight line. The effect is
like that of fretwork, but the figure is probably derived from a
modified animal form. The paste of this vase is sandy and is reddish
gray near the surface and quite dark within the mass. The modeling is
thoroughly well done, and the surface, which is of a somber, yellowish
gray tint, is highly polished. The figures are drawn chiefly in black,
red being confined to broad lines and areas. De Zeltner published
photographic illustrations of a similar vase with his pamphlet on the
graves of Chiriqui. That specimen is now, I believe, in the hands of
Prof. O. C. Marsh, of New Haven. It corresponds very closely in nearly
every respect with the example here described.
[Illustration: Fig. 207. Large vase with decorations in red and
black--¼.]
_The polychrome group._--The National Museum collection contains but
three examples of this most artistic of the wares of Chiriqui. Its claim
to superiority rests upon a certain boldness and refinement of
execution, combined with nobleness of outline and a type of design much
in advance of other isthmian decoration. It is probably most nearly
allied to the ware of the alligator group, and it possesses some of the
characteristics of the best Central American work. Unlike the other
wares of Chiriqui, this pottery has a bright salmon red paste and the
slip proper is a delicate shade of the same color. In nearly all cases
undecorated portions of the surface are finished in red, which appears
to have been polished down as a slip. The designs are in three
colors--black, a strong red, and a fine gray purple--which, in
combination with the bright reddish ground, give a very rich effect. The
first example, shown in Fig. 207, is a large, nearly symmetrical bottle
with a short neck and a thick, flaring lip. The inner surface of the
orifice and the lower half of the body are finished in red and the neck
and shoulder in the salmon colored slip. A wide zone of ornament
encircles the upper surface of the body. The designs are executed with
great skill in red and black colors and include two highly conventional
figures, probably of reptilian origin. The manner of their introduction
into the zone is shown in Fig. 208. The oval faces are placed on
opposite sides, taking the positions usually occupied by modeled heads.
Each face is supplemented by a pair of arms which terminate in curiously
conventional hands, and the two caudal appendages are placed midway
between the faces, filling triangular areas. The body of the vase serves
as a body for both creatures. In the illustration, the red of the
design, which is carried over all of one face save the eyes and mouth
and serves to emphasize the features of the other face, is indicated in
vertical tint lines and the black is given in solid color. This vase is
twelve inches in height.
[Illustration: Fig. 208. Devices of the decorated zone of vase shown
in Fig. 207.]
[Illustration: Fig. 209. Handsome vase with four handles and
decorations in black, red, and purple--2/3.]
A second example, illustrated in Fig. 209, is a fine piece of somewhat
unusual shape. The orifice is trumpet shaped and rather too wide for
good proportion. The body is flattened above and conical below and is
supported by a rather meager annular foot. The paste is of a light brick
red color, and the slip, as seen in the ground of the decorated belt, is
a pale gray orange. Undecorated portions of the surface are painted red.
The ornamented zone is interrupted by two pairs of handle-like
appendages set upon the outer part of the shoulder. These projections
may possibly have served as handles, as they are perforated both
horizontally and vertically, but they are at the same time undoubtedly
conventionalized animal forms, the creature being represented by the
four flattened, transversely marked arms or rays and an eye-like device
painted upon the top of each figure. The painted devices are seen in
plan in Fig. 210, where the relations of the relieved features to the
zone of painted decoration are clearly shown. This zone is divided into
panels of unequal dimensions, and within these a number of extraordinary
devices are drawn in three colors, red, black, and purple. These are
distinguished in the plan by peculiar tint lines. The designs are of
such a character as to leave little doubt that they are ideographic,
although at present it is impossible to guess the nature of the
associated ideas. The annular foot observed in this specimen illustrates
the first step in the development of a feature the final stage of which
is shown in Fig. 211. The latter shape is such as would result from
inverting the preceding form, removing the conical base of the body, and
using the funnel shaped orifice as a stand. This highly developed shape
implies a long practice of the art. The form is a usual one in Mexico
and in Central America. The bowl is shallow and is set gracefully upon
the stand, the whole shape closely resembling simple conditions of the
classic kylix. The color of the paste is a pale brick red and that of
the slip approaches orange. The walls are thick and even and the surface
is very carefully polished.
[Illustration: Fig. 210. The painted designs of vase in Fig. 209
viewed from above.]
The painted decoration is of unusual interest. The colors are so rich,
the execution is so superior, and the conception so strange that we
dwell upon it with surprise and wonder. The central portion of the bowl
is occupied by what would seem to represent a fish painted in strong,
firm, marvelously turned lines, and in a style of convention wholly
unique. The outlines are in black and the spaces are filled in with red
and purple or are left in the orange hue of the ground. An idea of the
superior style of execution can be gained from Fig. 212. It will be
impossible to characterize the details of the drawing in words. The
strange position and shape of the head, the oddly placed eyes and mouth,
and the totally incomprehensible treatment of the body can be
appreciated, however, by referring to the illustration. A careful study
leads inevitably to the conclusion that this was no ordinary decoration,
no playing with lines, but a serious working out of a conception every
part of which had its significance or its raison d'être.
[Illustration: Fig. 211. Vase of unusual shape, with decoration in
black, red, and purple--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 212. Ornament occupying the interior surface of
the basin of vase shown in Fig. 211.]
The figures occupying the border zone of the bowl are worthy of careful
inspection. It will be seen that the potter, even in this highly
specialized condition of the utensil, has not lost sight of the
conception that the vessel is the body of an animal, as we have seen so
often in simpler forms, and that the symbols of the creature should
appear upon it and encircle it. The zone is divided into two equal
sections by small knobs, painted, as are the handle-like appendages in
the preceding specimen, to represent some animal feature. The lateral
sections are occupied by eye-like figures that stand for the markings of
the body of the creature symbolized. They really occupy the spaces left
by a continuous waved body or life line, which they serve to define.
Devices of this class are most frequently met with in connection with
representations of the alligator. They may, however, symbolize the
serpent, as occasionally seen in the alligator group. Decorative
conceptions so remarkable as these could arise only through one channel:
the channel of mythology. The superstitions of men have imposed upon the
art a series of conceptions fixed in character and limited to especial
positions, relations, and forms of expression. It is useless to
speculate upon the nature of the mythologic conceptions with an idea of
arriving at any understanding of the religion of the people; but we do
learn something of the stage of development, something of the condition
of philosophy.
[Illustration: Fig. 213. Large vase of fine shape and simple
decorations. From De Zeltner--about ¼.]
I must not close this section without referring to some fine vases that
belong apparently to this group and which were collected by De Zeltner
and illustrated by photographs accompanying his pamphlet. They are now,
I believe, in the possession of Prof. O. C. Marsh. The sketches given
herewith are copied from De Zeltner's photographs and are probably
somewhat defective in details of drawing. The piece illustrated in
Fig. 213 is not described by the author, but is evidently a handsome
vessel and is decorated in a very simple manner. A band of devices
symbolizing the body of an animal encircles the middle portion of the
vase. The height is about a foot.
[Illustration: Fig. 214. Vase with extraordinary decorative designs.
From De Zeltner--about ¼.]
A second piece (Fig. 214), of which two views are given by the same
author, corresponds closely in many respects with the vase illustrated
in Fig. 211 and is described in the following language:
My collection includes a cup (or chalice) of baked clay 25
centimeters in diameter, mounted on a hollow stand which gives it a
height of 18 centimeters, and the designs of which are very rich and
in perfect taste. The base is hollow and colored red, white, black,
and purple; it has four narrow openings or slits, and the design
represents plaits spirally arranged. The under side of the cup is
divided into four compartments, each of which incloses a dragon
painted in black and red on a white ground; the borders are
sometimes red, sometimes purple. The body of the dragon might have
been painted in China, so neat and intricate is the drawing.
The design upon the inside of the cup seems to resemble Egyptian
art. The body of a man is seen, painted in red, the arms and legs
separated, and the shoulders bearing the head of the dragon with
teeth and crest. The color is similar to the rest of the
piece--purple, white, and black. The intermediate spaces are filled
with very intricate designs.
This extraordinary design is shown in Fig. 215, and it will be seen that
it agrees in many respects with figures presented in the lost color and
alligator groups. It is compound in character, however, the head
referring to the alligator, the body and extremities perhaps to a man or
to a monkey. The suggestion of the oriental dragon in this, as in other
examples, is at once apparent, and the resemblance to certain
conventional forms that come down to us from the earliest known period
of Chinese art is truly remarkable. We cannot, of course, predicate
identity of origin even upon absolute identity of appearances, but such
correspondences are worthy of note, as they may in time accumulate to
such an extent that the belief in a common origin will force itself
upon us.
[Illustration: Fig. 215. Painted design of vase in Fig. 214, viewed
from above, thought to represent a dragon by De Zeltner; probably a
composite of the alligator and the monkey or man.]
_Unclassified._--A small number of vases do not admit of classification
under any of the preceding heads. In most cases, however, they are not
of especial interest and may be passed over. They represent a number of
varieties of ware and are possibly not all Chiriquian, their affinities
being rather with the pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. One
remarkable piece, of which a sketch is given in Fig. 50, _c_, is of
large size and is shaped somewhat like an hour glass, and on account of
its peculiar form and markings may be said to resemble a corset. The
upper end is somewhat the smaller, and the septum, which forms the
bottom of the vessel, is placed about an inch above the base of the
foot. The interior surface is smoothly polished and painted a dark dull
red. The exterior is uncolored and neatly fluted. The series of vertical
ribs of the upper end is separated from those of the base by a belt of
horizontal flutings, and a wide smooth space extends from the top to the
base, the lower section of which is occupied by a row of button-like,
indented knobs. The use of this utensil may not have been peculiar, but
its shape is wholly unique. It resembles most nearly the ware of the
maroon group. Its height is twelve inches.
Perhaps the most interesting of these unclassified vases is a somewhat
fragmentary piece, of which an outline is given in Fig. 216. The ware
closely resembles that of the alligator group in color of the paste and
slip, but the base has been supplied with an annular stand, a feature
not observed in that group, and the colors of the design, with the
exception of the black, are unlike those used in Chiriquian vases.
[Illustration: Fig. 216. Vase of unique form and decoration--1/3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 217. Painted design of vase in Fig. 216 in
black, red, and gray.]
It will be seen by reference to Fig. 217 that the painted figures are
partially pictorial, the conventional scenes including the sun, the
moon, and stars. The more conventional parts of the design are very
curious and without doubt are symbolic. The border of fret work is
Mexican in style. The sun, which is only partially exposed above the
horizon, is outlined in red and is surrounded by red rays. The figures
supposed to represent the moon and the stars are in black. In the
illustration the reds of the original are represented by vertical tint
lines and the brownish grays by horizontal tint lines. The black is in
solid color.