Photo Credits: Cristian Figueroa.
Display Title: Aviform Ceramic Support
Object Numbers: MCB-07-05
Dimensions:
Digital Number: TCISVM-0017
Material Type: Ceramic
Length: 29.5 mm
Width: 30.9 mm
Height: 44.8 mm
Weight: 25.4g
Time Period: Pre-colonial
Provenance: Little Corn Island
Donor: William Hodgson
Location: Museo Histórico de la Costa Caribe CIDCCA-BICU Accession Date: 2014
Description:
Aviform ceramic support likely depicting a type of American vulture (Cathartidae) such as the American black vulture (Coragyps atratus), commonly known as the zopilote. The center of the support is hollow. The exterior is decorated with two circular lateral orifices forming the “eyes”, a thick appliquéd band above each eye forming the “eyebrows”, two incised lines above each eyebrow, and two incised lines at the start of the “beak” separating it from the rest of the face. The tip of the beak is conical and would have served as the zone of support for a tripodal vessel alongside two additional supports. The surface of the ceramic is untreated and presents the natural reddish-orange color of the clay baked in an oxidizing environment.
Additional Photos:
Photo Credits: Top and middle row images by Cristian Figueroa; Bottom row images by the Museo Histórico de la Costa Caribe del Centro de Investigaciones de la Costa Caribe-Atlántica de Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (CIDCCA-BICU).