Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle culture, Macaracas type, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A bichrome terracotta frog effigy vessel with an olla-shaped body, the amphibian's visage painted on one side, pointed low-relief tail on the other, and legs painted between - all in black on red. A wonderful vessel replete with meaning as frogs symbolized water and fertility in the ancient Americas. Size: 5" in diameter x 3.75" H (12.7 cm x 9.5 cm)
According to scholar Samuel Kirkland Lothrop, "The Gran Cocle culture is a Pre-Columbian archaeological culture that gets its name from the area from which it was based, the now present-day Cocle province of Panama. The Gran Cocle term applies to a loosely studied group of Native American sub-cultures in this region, identified by their pottery styles. The overall period spans a time from 150 B.C. to the end in the 16th century A.D. upon Spanish contact. The most ancient culture is the La Mula period from 150 B.C. to 300 A.D. The La Mula and later Monagrillo and Tonosa pottery styles are identified by their the use of three paint colors which were black, red and white (or cream). The later Cubitas style saw the emergence of the use of four colors. The styles of Conte, Macaracas and Joaquin added purple to their palette and this hue ranged from grayish tones to red purple. The use of purple disappeared in the subsequent styles of Parita and El Altillo and the paint style reverted back to the use of three colors. Most notable in the artistic renderings are the overt use of geometric designs." (For more information, see Armand Labbe, "Guardians of The Life Stream: Shamans, Art and Power in Prehispanic Central Panama" - Bowers Museum of Cultural Art, University of Washington Press, 1995)
Accompanied by Marc A. Schmitt COA - dated 9/5/09 - certificate number 2430.
Provenance: private Boulder, CO collection
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#143787
Condition
Normal surface wear with chips and abrasions commensurate with age. Minor pigment loss but the imagery is still vivid. Old inventory labels on bottom.