Pre-Columbian, Columbia and Ecuador, La Tolita (sometimes Tumaco), ca. 600 BCE to 200 CE. A hand-built pottery effigy grater, or rollador, in the shape of a fish's body with a corrugated surface. The body is an elongated ovoid shape with pointed tips, and the central portion of the body has been impressed with a series of squares to create tight, high ridges within a border. The flat border that frames the abraded scraping area is painted with a russet red pigment and the underside is a gray-white hue. Grater plates like this example were used to scrape the scales off fish prior to cooking, and the wide surface meant that even large fish could be quickly descaled. Size: 12" L x 3.8" W (30.5 cm x 9.7 cm)
Provenance: private Southern California, USA collection, acquired through descent 2006; ex-private California, USA collection, before 2000
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#168135
Condition
Repaired from 4 large piece with visible adhesive within break lines. Chips and nicks as shown. Retains most painted pigments and the abraded scraping ridges.