Crocodile effigy incense burner
400–1350 AD
Object PlaceNicoya-Guanacaste region, Costa Rica or Nicaragua
Medium/TechniqueEarthenware with slip-painted decoration
DimensionsOverall: 52.2 × 31.8 × 31.4 cm (20 9/16 × 12 1/2 × 12 3/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Timothy Phillips in honor of Dennis Carr
Accession number2019.1992a-b
On View
On viewClassificationsCeramics
Collections
Provenance1960s, acquired in Panama by Dr. Edward Howell (b. 1926 – d. 1998), Danville, PA [see note]; by inheritance to his widow, Jacqueline Howell, New Orleans; 2013, sold by Mrs. Howell to M. S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans; 2013, sold by Rau Antiques to Timothy Phillips, Boston; 2019, gift of Timothy Phillips to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 11, 2019)
NOTE: According to a signed and notarized statement from Dr. Howell’s widow (February 18, 2013). Dr. Howell served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the early 1960s, at which time he was stationed in Peru. He formed much of his Pre-Columbian collection at that time. Panama, where he is believed to have acquired this piece, was the primary refueling stop between the U.S. and Peru.
NOTE: According to a signed and notarized statement from Dr. Howell’s widow (February 18, 2013). Dr. Howell served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the early 1960s, at which time he was stationed in Peru. He formed much of his Pre-Columbian collection at that time. Panama, where he is believed to have acquired this piece, was the primary refueling stop between the U.S. and Peru.
AD 650–800
A.D. 600–750
A.D. 650–780
A.D. 600–750
AD 650–750
A.D. 600–750
A.D. 700–800
150 B.C.–350 A.D.
1900–30
