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Human head effigy jar
Human head effigy jar

Human head effigy jar

AD 600–850
Object PlaceGuatemala
Medium/TechniqueEarthenware with cream and specular hematite slip paint, and blue pigment
DimensionsOverall: 22.86 cm (9 in.)
Credit LineGift from the Collection of Shirley and Hy Zaret
Accession number2008.190a-b
On View
On view
ClassificationsCeramics
Collections
Description
The skeletal imagery on this jar symbolizes the human life cycle and that of maize, as the bare maize cob was likened to bones without flesh.
ProvenanceMid- to late 1950s or 1960s, acquired by José Luis and Ethelbert Molina, Miami [see note 1]; late 1980s, sold by the Molinas to Lands Beyond Gallery, New York; after 1995, sold by Lands Beyond to Hy and Shirley Zaret, Westport, CT; 2008, gift of Shirley Zaret to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2008)

NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Lands Beyond Gallery to the MFA, the Molina collection was formed between the mid-1950s and 1960s.