Part 12
If realistic or semirealistic delineations are confused in this way it is to be expected that highly conventional derivative figures, so numerous and varied, should be much less clearly distinguished; that indeed there should be no certainty whatever in the reference to originals. It is difficult to say of any particular conventional device that it originated in the figure of the animal as a whole rather than in some part or character of that animal or of some other animal.
A very instructive example bearing upon this subject is shown in Fig. 203. Attached to one side of the basin is a pendent head resembling that of a serpent or a turtle. A kind of hood overhangs the head and extends in a ridge around the sides of the vessel, connecting with the tail of the creature, which is also pendent and hooded. Four legs support the vessel and are marked with transverse stripes of red and black paint. The upper surface of the head is covered with reticulated lines in black, and bands of conventional ornament in the same color extend around the sides of the vessel, uniting the head with the tail of the animal. A single band of ornament passes beneath the body, also connecting those members. It is plain that these painted bands serve to complete the representation of the reptile. But, as I have just shown, they are as likely to stand for the whole creature or to be the abbreviated representative of the whole creature as to represent merely the markings of the body. These devices, as arranged in the zone, resemble in a remarkable degree the conventional running scroll.
I have but one more example of the alligator vases to present, but it is perhaps the most remarkable piece in the collection (Fig. 204). It illustrates to good advantage both the skill and the strange fancy of these archaic potters. A large vase, having a high flaring rim and a subcubical body, is supported by two grotesque human appearing figures, whose backs are set against opposite ends of the vessel. The legs are placed wide apart, thus affording a firm support. The heads of the two figures project forward from the shoulder of the vase and are flattened in such a way as to give long oval outlines to the crowns which are truncated and furnished with long slit-like openings that connect through the head with the main chamber of the vessel. The openings are about two and a half inches long and one-eighth of an inch wide and are surrounded by a shallow channel in the flat, well polished upper surface. The extraordinary conformation of this part of the vessel recalls the well known whistling vases of South America; but this piece is too badly broken to admit of experiment to test its powers. It is generally likened to a money box. In order to convey a clear conception of the shape of the upper surface, I present a top view of the vessel (Fig. 205).
A front view of one of the supporting figures is shown in Fig. 206. Although certainly not intended to represent a human figure with accuracy, it is furnished with a crown, as are the figures in gold and stone, and is covered with devices that seem to refer to costume. The features are extremely grotesque, the nose resembling the beak of a bird and the mouth being a mere ridge, without indications of the lips. The face and the chest are painted with curious devices in red. The funnel and body of the vase are decorated with subjects that seem to have no connection with the plastic features and no relation to one another in subject matter. The upper panel, surrounded by a framework of black and red lines, contains the figure of an alligator much simplified and taking a peculiar position on account of the shape of the space into which it is crowded. The figure occupying the body panel is that of a very strangely conventionalized two tailed monkey and is enframed by a wide red line. On the shoulder of the vessel is an ornament consisting of a number of angular hooks attached to a straight line. The effect is like that of fretwork, but the figure is probably derived from a modified animal form. The paste of this vase is sandy and is reddish gray near the surface and quite dark within the mass. The modeling is thoroughly well done, and the surface, which is of a somber, yellowish gray tint, is highly polished. The figures are drawn chiefly in black, red being confined to broad lines and areas. De Zeltner published photographic illustrations of a similar vase with his pamphlet on the graves of Chiriqui. That specimen is now, I believe, in the hands of Prof. O. C. Marsh, of New Haven. It corresponds very closely in nearly every respect with the example here described.
_The polychrome group._--The National Museum collection contains but three examples of this most artistic of the wares of Chiriqui. Its claim to superiority rests upon a certain boldness and refinement of execution, combined with nobleness of outline and a type of design much in advance of other isthmian decoration. It is probably most nearly allied to the ware of the alligator group, and it possesses some of the characteristics of the best Central American work. Unlike the other wares of Chiriqui, this pottery has a bright salmon red paste and the slip proper is a delicate shade of the same color. In nearly all cases undecorated portions of the surface are finished in red, which appears to have been polished down as a slip. The designs are in three colors--black, a strong red, and a fine gray purple--which, in combination with the bright reddish ground, give a very rich effect. The first example, shown in Fig. 207, is a large, nearly symmetrical bottle with a short neck and a thick, flaring lip. The inner surface of the orifice and the lower half of the body are finished in red and the neck and shoulder in the salmon colored slip. A wide zone of ornament encircles the upper surface of the body. The designs are executed with great skill in red and black colors and include two highly conventional figures, probably of reptilian origin. The manner of their introduction into the zone is shown in Fig. 208. The oval faces are placed on opposite sides, taking the positions usually occupied by modeled heads. Each face is supplemented by a pair of arms which terminate in curiously conventional hands, and the two caudal appendages are placed midway between the faces, filling triangular areas. The body of the vase serves as a body for both creatures. In the illustration, the red of the design, which is carried over all of one face save the eyes and mouth and serves to emphasize the features of the other face, is indicated in vertical tint lines and the black is given in solid color. This vase is twelve inches in height.
A second example, illustrated in Fig. 209, is a fine piece of somewhat unusual shape. The orifice is trumpet shaped and rather too wide for good proportion. The body is flattened above and conical below and is supported by a rather meager annular foot. The paste is of a light brick red color, and the slip, as seen in the ground of the decorated belt, is a pale gray orange. Undecorated portions of the surface are painted red. The ornamented zone is interrupted by two pairs of handle-like appendages set upon the outer part of the shoulder. These projections may possibly have served as handles, as they are perforated both horizontally and vertically, but they are at the same time undoubtedly conventionalized animal forms, the creature being represented by the four flattened, transversely marked arms or rays and an eye-like device painted upon the top of each figure. The painted devices are seen in plan in Fig. 210, where the relations of the relieved features to the zone of painted decoration are clearly shown. This zone is divided into panels of unequal dimensions, and within these a number of extraordinary devices are drawn in three colors, red, black, and purple. These are distinguished in the plan by peculiar tint lines. The designs are of such a character as to leave little doubt that they are ideographic, although at present it is impossible to guess the nature of the associated ideas. The annular foot observed in this specimen illustrates the first step in the development of a feature the final stage of which is shown in Fig. 211. The latter shape is such as would result from inverting the preceding form, removing the conical base of the body, and using the funnel shaped orifice as a stand. This highly developed shape implies a long practice of the art. The form is a usual one in Mexico and in Central America. The bowl is shallow and is set gracefully upon the stand, the whole shape closely resembling simple conditions of the classic kylix. The color of the paste is a pale brick red and that of the slip approaches orange. The walls are thick and even and the surface is very carefully polished.
The painted decoration is of unusual interest. The colors are so rich, the execution is so superior, and the conception so strange that we dwell upon it with surprise and wonder. The central portion of the bowl is occupied by what would seem to represent a fish painted in strong, firm, marvelously turned lines, and in a style of convention wholly unique. The outlines are in black and the spaces are filled in with red and purple or are left in the orange hue of the ground. An idea of the superior style of execution can be gained from Fig. 212. It will be impossible to characterize the details of the drawing in words. The strange position and shape of the head, the oddly placed eyes and mouth, and the totally incomprehensible treatment of the body can be appreciated, however, by referring to the illustration. A careful study leads inevitably to the conclusion that this was no ordinary decoration, no playing with lines, but a serious working out of a conception every part of which had its significance or its raison d'être.
The figures occupying the border zone of the bowl are worthy of careful inspection. It will be seen that the potter, even in this highly specialized condition of the utensil, has not lost sight of the conception that the vessel is the body of an animal, as we have seen so often in simpler forms, and that the symbols of the creature should appear upon it and encircle it. The zone is divided into two equal sections by small knobs, painted, as are the handle-like appendages in the preceding specimen, to represent some animal feature. The lateral sections are occupied by eye-like figures that stand for the markings of the body of the creature symbolized. They really occupy the spaces left by a continuous waved body or life line, which they serve to define. Devices of this class are most frequently met with in connection with representations of the alligator. They may, however, symbolize the serpent, as occasionally seen in the alligator group. Decorative conceptions so remarkable as these could arise only through one channel: the channel of mythology. The superstitions of men have imposed upon the art a series of conceptions fixed in character and limited to especial positions, relations, and forms of expression. It is useless to speculate upon the nature of the mythologic conceptions with an idea of arriving at any understanding of the religion of the people; but we do learn something of the stage of development, something of the condition of philosophy.
I must not close this section without referring to some fine vases that belong apparently to this group and which were collected by De Zeltner and illustrated by photographs accompanying his pamphlet. They are now, I believe, in the possession of Prof. O. C. Marsh. The sketches given herewith are copied from De Zeltner's photographs and are probably somewhat defective in details of drawing. The piece illustrated in Fig. 213 is not described by the author, but is evidently a handsome vessel and is decorated in a very simple manner. A band of devices symbolizing the body of an animal encircles the middle portion of the vase. The height is about a foot.
A second piece (Fig. 214), of which two views are given by the same author, corresponds closely in many respects with the vase illustrated in Fig. 211 and is described in the following language:
My collection includes a cup (or chalice) of baked clay 25 centimeters in diameter, mounted on a hollow stand which gives it a height of 18 centimeters, and the designs of which are very rich and in perfect taste. The base is hollow and colored red, white, black, and purple; it has four narrow openings or slits, and the design represents plaits spirally arranged. The under side of the cup is divided into four compartments, each of which incloses a dragon painted in black and red on a white ground; the borders are sometimes red, sometimes purple. The body of the dragon might have been painted in China, so neat and intricate is the drawing.
The design upon the inside of the cup seems to resemble Egyptian art. The body of a man is seen, painted in red, the arms and legs separated, and the shoulders bearing the head of the dragon with teeth and crest. The color is similar to the rest of the piece--purple, white, and black. The intermediate spaces are filled with very intricate designs.
This extraordinary design is shown in Fig. 215, and it will be seen that it agrees in many respects with figures presented in the lost color and alligator groups. It is compound in character, however, the head referring to the alligator, the body and extremities perhaps to a man or to a monkey. The suggestion of the oriental dragon in this, as in other examples, is at once apparent, and the resemblance to certain conventional forms that come down to us from the earliest known period of Chinese art is truly remarkable. We cannot, of course, predicate identity of origin even upon absolute identity of appearances, but such correspondences are worthy of note, as they may in time accumulate to such an extent that the belief in a common origin will force itself upon us.
_Unclassified._--A small number of vases do not admit of classification under any of the preceding heads. In most cases, however, they are not of especial interest and may be passed over. They represent a number of varieties of ware and are possibly not all Chiriquian, their affinities being rather with the pottery of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. One remarkable piece, of which a sketch is given in Fig. 50, _c_, is of large size and is shaped somewhat like an hour glass, and on account of its peculiar form and markings may be said to resemble a corset. The upper end is somewhat the smaller, and the septum, which forms the bottom of the vessel, is placed about an inch above the base of the foot. The interior surface is smoothly polished and painted a dark dull red. The exterior is uncolored and neatly fluted. The series of vertical ribs of the upper end is separated from those of the base by a belt of horizontal flutings, and a wide smooth space extends from the top to the base, the lower section of which is occupied by a row of button-like, indented knobs. The use of this utensil may not have been peculiar, but its shape is wholly unique. It resembles most nearly the ware of the maroon group. Its height is twelve inches.
Perhaps the most interesting of these unclassified vases is a somewhat fragmentary piece, of which an outline is given in Fig. 216. The ware closely resembles that of the alligator group in color of the paste and slip, but the base has been supplied with an annular stand, a feature not observed in that group, and the colors of the design, with the exception of the black, are unlike those used in Chiriquian vases.
It will be seen by reference to Fig. 217 that the painted figures are partially pictorial, the conventional scenes including the sun, the moon, and stars. The more conventional parts of the design are very curious and without doubt are symbolic. The border of fret work is Mexican in style. The sun, which is only partially exposed above the horizon, is outlined in red and is surrounded by red rays. The figures supposed to represent the moon and the stars are in black. In the illustration the reds of the original are represented by vertical tint lines and the brownish grays by horizontal tint lines. The black is in solid color.
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS OF CLAY.
As primitive peoples advance in culture and the various branches of art are differentiated, each of the materials employed is made to fill a wider and wider sphere of usefulness. Clay, applied at first to vessel making and used perhaps as an auxiliary in a number of arts in which it took no definite or individual shapes, gradually extended its dominion until almost every art was in a measure dependent upon it or in some way utilized it. The extent of this expansion of availability is in a general way a measure of the advancement of the races concerned. The Chiriquians employed clay in the construction of textile machinery, as shown by the occurrence of spindle whorls, and a number of small receptacles, probably needlecases, are constructed of that material. It was employed in the manufacture of stools, statuettes, drums, rattles, and whistles. With less cultured races, such as the Pueblo and mound builders of the north, such articles were rarely manufactured, while with the more cultured nations of Mexico and Peru a wider field was covered and the work was considerably superior.
SPINDLE WHORLS.
The art of weaving was carried to a high degree of perfection by many of the American races, but the processes employed were of the simplest kind. The threads were spun upon wooden spindles weighted with whorls of baked clay. These whorls are not plentiful in the graves of Chiriqui, but such as have been collected are quite similar in style to those of Mexico and Peru. In Figs. 218, 219, and 220 we have three examples modeled with considerable attention to detail but comparatively rude in finish. They are in the natural color of the baked clay and are but rudely polished. The first is encircled by a line of rough, indented nodes, the second is embellished with homely little animal figures, and the third with incised patterns and rude incisions.
NEEDLECASES (?).
I have given this name to a rather large class of small oblong or oval receptacles that could have served to contain needles or any other small articles of domestic use or of the toilet. They consist of two parts, a vessel or body and a lid. The former takes a variety of cylindrical, subcylindrical, and doubly conical shapes, and the latter is conical and is in many cases furnished with a knob at the top for grasping with the fingers. The lid is attached or held in place by means of strings passed through small holes made for the purpose in corresponding margins of the two parts. These objects were in pretty general use in the province, as they are found to belong to a number of the groups of ware, being finished and decorated as are the ordinary vessels of these classes. A few type specimens are given in the following cuts. A fine example belonging to the unpainted ware is shown in outline in Fig. 221. It is five inches in height and three in diameter and is pleasing in shape. The specimen outlined in Fig. 222 is of the lost color group, but has lost nearly all traces of the decorative design.
A fine example, with high polish and elaborate decoration, is presented in Fig. 223. The lid is raised to show the position of the perforations. Two interesting examples belonging to the dark incised ware are shown in Figs. 224 and 225. The deeply incised design of the first is purely geometric, but is probably of graphic parentage, while that of the second, rather rudely scratched through the dark surface into the gray paste, is apparently a less highly conventionalized treatment of the same motive.
FIGURINES.