Jaguar effigy metate
A.D. 300–700
Object PlaceCosta Rica or Nicaragua
Medium/TechniqueBasalt
DimensionsOverall: 36.8 x 86.4 x 35.6 cm (14 1/2 x 34 x 14 in.)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated by Jeremy and Hanne Grantham and Timothy Phillips
Accession number2008.169
On View
On viewClassificationsTools and equipment
Collections
This "metate," or ceremonial seat, is an excellent example of a rare sculptural style characterized by delicate, openwork carving and finely incised details. The sixteenth-century Spanish observed similar objects used as biers for the embalmed bodies of important individuals and as grinding stones for tobacco and other hallucinogenic plants. They described the jaguar or puma image as a lineage or clan symbol.
Provenance1960s, acquired in Costa Rica by private American collectors [see note]; May 16, 2008, anonymous (American private collection) sale, Sotheby's, New York, lot 3, to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)
NOTE: According to the Sotheby's auction catalogue, this had been "acquired over 40 years ago." Additional information provided by the auction house indicated that the consignor and her husband had acquired this object in Costa Rica in the 1960s.
NOTE: According to the Sotheby's auction catalogue, this had been "acquired over 40 years ago." Additional information provided by the auction house indicated that the consignor and her husband had acquired this object in Costa Rica in the 1960s.
800–1400 CE
AD 800–1550
400–800
AD 800–1400
800–1400 CE
500 B.C.–A.D. 700
A.D. 1100–1550
A.D. 1100–1550
A.D. 1100–1550
A.D. 1100–1550