Ancient art of the province of Chiriqui, Colombia Part 5

The neck in its simplest form is a narrow upright band surrounding the orifice (Fig. 50, _a_) and is not differentiated from the rim.

Variations in size and shape are shown in the remaining figures of the series. In _b_ it is a narrow constricted band beneath an overhanging rim, in _c_ it is upright and considerably elongated, and in _d_ it expands, giving a funnel shaped mouth. The exterior surface is very generally decorated with relieved or painted devices. High necked bottles and pitcher shaped vessels are unknown.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _a, b, c, d, e, f_ Fig. 51. Arrangement of handles--various groups of ware.]

Handles const.i.tute a very interesting feature of this pottery and are much varied in shape and arrangement. In a few cases the handle is a single arch springing over the orifice, as seen in Fig. 51, _a_. Again, the handle is attached to one side, as in _b_, but as a rule handles occur in twos upon the shoulder, one on either side of the aperture.

They are horizontally attached, as in _c_, or vertically placed, as in _d_, connecting the rim with the shoulder, or they occur low on the body, as in _e_. In rare cases there are four handles, which are arranged as seen in _f_ or are set on in pairs. In the elaboration of handles, the use made of animal forms is perhaps the most notable feature. Grotesque figures are made to take the place of handles or are attached to or placed near them. The treatment is so varied that I shall have to refer the student to the subsequent series of ill.u.s.trations.

Annular bases or feet were not in very general use in Chiriqui, although in some cases they are modeled with a great deal of grace. The shape varies from a simple ring, barely deep enough to give a firm support to the vessel when placed upon a level surface, to a long, attenuated column with flaring base. The latter is perhaps one of the nearest approaches which America has furnished to the slender foot characteristic of the wheel made ware of Mediterranean countries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _a, b, c, d_ Fig. 52. Types of annular bases or feet--various groups of ware.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _a_ Biscuit ware.

_b_ Biscuit ware.

_c_ Tripod group.

_d_ Red line group.

Fig. 53. Forms of legs--various groups of ware.]

The vessel shown in Fig. 52, _a_, has a somewhat rudimentary foot; another, _b_, a firm, wide base, which is perforated to give lightness; an hourgla.s.s-like piece is shown in _c_, and a long, bell shaped foot is seen in _d_. In no part of the world do earthen vessels exhibit such a remarkable development of legs as in Southern Central America. The tripod is the favorite support, and in Chiriqui the forms are more graceful than in the neighboring provinces. In a few cases, where the body was modeled in close imitation of animal forms, four legs were used, but three were generally preferred, even for vessels of rectangular or irregular shapes. In the simplest form they are small conical k.n.o.bs, placed rather close together about the base of the vessel (Fig. 53, _a_), but from these the dimensions increase until the size is out of all reasonable proportion. The maximum development in point of expansion is seen in _b_ and the greatest height in _c_. They are frequently modeled after life forms. In a few cases rings or loops are employed, as shown in _d_. The larger forms, and especially those imitating animals, are hollow and contain round pellets of clay that rattle when the vessel is moved. The manner in which the legs are attached to the body of the vessel leads me to observe that the vessel is independently a perfect utensil, and that in all probability the tripod was a feature acquired late in the progress of Chiriquian culture, as a result of some change in the surroundings of the people or in the uses to which the vessel was devoted. Annular bases and tripods would be of little use until level floors of unyielding material came into vogue.

_Decoration._--In decoration the pottery of this province exhibits many remarkable features. The work resembles somewhat closely, in a number of its features, that of certain districts lying to the north and to the south, but at the same time it is possessed of very decided individuality. From an examination of the designs I conclude that they represent a period of culture considerably inferior to that of some more northern sections, although the ware itself is nowhere surpa.s.sed in grace of form and delicacy of finish.

The ornamentation is pretty evenly divided between plastic and flat forms. The former include relieved features and intaglio features, which are executed in the plastic clay, and the latter comprise figures in color, penciled or painted upon the surface. Each style of work embodies its own peculiar cla.s.s of conceptions. Relief work is generally realistic or grotesque; incised work is almost exclusively geometric, and embraces combinations of lines usually recognized as archaic. An occasional example is easily recognized as imitative. Painted figures are both geometric and imitative, the two forms blending imperceptibly.

The more important plastic decorations consist of animal forms modeled in the round. Vegetable forms have not been employed. Fillets of clay imitating twisted cords are sparingly used in the decoration of necks and handles, and rows and groups of small nodes are similarly employed.

The human figure is always treated in a conventional and usually in a grotesque manner. The animals imitated include a very large number of species. Crocodiles, pumas, armadillos, monkeys, crabs, lizards, scorpions, frogs, and fish appear very frequently. Many of the animals, owing to conventional treatment or to carelessness on the part of the modeler, are difficult of identification. These plastic forms occur in nearly all the groups of ware, and similar forms are found to a limited extent in gold, copper, and stone, as will be seen by reference to the ill.u.s.trations already given. Their study will, I believe, give some insight into the mental characteristics of the Chiriquians. That their art, so far as these figures are concerned, was not serious is indicated by the sketchy, unsystematic nature of the work, and more especially by the grotesque and occasionally amusing representation of men and animals.

The figures are usually placed upon the shoulder of the vessel or are attached to the legs and handles or form part of them. The favorite subjects are doleful little figures, human or partly so, fixed upon the vessel in a sitting posture, with legs and arms doubled up, and with expressions which appear to indicate a variety of exaggerated emotions (Figs. 54, 55, 56).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 54.

Fig. 55.

Fig. 56.

Grotesque figures forming the handles of small vases--terra cotta group.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 57.

Fig. 58.

Monstrous figures, with serpent-shaped extremities--handled group.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 59.

Fig. 60.

Fig. 61.

Grotesque figures--terra cotta group.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 62. Figure of monkey--terra cotta group]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 63.

Fig. 64.

Figures of monkeys--terra cotta group.]

The exuberance of fancy often found vent in the production of monstrosities, such as are seen in Figs. 57 and 58, in which the arms and legs of the figures are writhing serpents, the faces expressing great agony; in other cases the figures are double; and again two bodies united at the waist have but one pair of legs. An unusually grotesque creature is seen in Figs. 59 and 60, and another is given in Fig. 61.

Similar figures are worked in gold, one of which is now worn as a charm by Mr. J. B. Stearns. Figures of monkeys are shown in Figs. 62, 63, and 64. One creature, represented as having a long, trunk-like snout, recurs frequently. Such a form discovered in the earlier days of archaeologic investigation would probably have given rise to many surmises as to the contemporaneous existence of man and the elephant in Chiriqui. In reality the original was probably some una.s.suming little inhabitant of the isthmian jungles. This creature is shown in profile in Fig. 65, _a_, and front views are given in _b_ and _c_. Innumerable examples, embracing most of the more important animals of Chiriqui, could be given, but in a majority of cases identification is difficult or impossible, as there has been little or no effort to reproduce nature with fidelity. But the chief interest surrounding these figures is not found in the variety of creatures shown or in the character of the delineation, but in the manner of their employment in the embellishment of ceramic forms. The ancient potter must have possessed a keen sense of grace of form and of the proper adjustment of parts. The most cultured taste could hardly improve upon the lines of the vases presented in Figs. 66 and 67, which employ the frog, and in Figs. 68 and 69, in which other creatures are used. Many equally pleasing examples are ill.u.s.trated further on. The question very naturally arises as to whether these little figures had any meaning or performed any function aside from that of simple decoration. I feel inclined to take the view that in their present condition they are survivals of ideographic originals; that if their past could be unveiled we would find that in the primitive ages they were not exclusively employed for ornament. The animals made use of originally were the embodiment of mythologic conceptions, and their images were revered or served as fetiches or charms, and because of this they came to have a permanent place in art. They were applied to the vessel because its office had reference to them or because they were thought to have a beneficial effect upon its functions. It is evident that their employment was governed by well established rules and that they occupied places and occurred in numbers and relations not wholly dependent upon the judgment of the individual potter. We may suppose that they occur in twos because the handles with which they were a.s.sociated occurred in twos; or, if they serve to take the place of the extremities of the animal forms in the semblance of which the vases were originally modeled, their positions may be related to the original positions of the heads and tails of those forms. It is not improbable that the conventional incised and relieved ornaments, the meanders, nodes, and varied marks refer also to the creatures or the markings of the creatures with which the vessel was a.s.sociated.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 65. Animal forms exhibiting a long proboscis--handled group.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 66.

Fig. 67.

Vases ill.u.s.trating ornamental use of animal figures--terra cotta group.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 68.

Fig. 69.

Vases ill.u.s.trating ornamental use of animal figures--terra cotta group.]

It will be seen, from the above remarks, that we cannot fully determine to what extent these ancient decorators followed the traditional pathways of early ideographic usage or how much they were governed by those powers of esthetic discrimination known to us as taste.

UNPAINTED WARE.

For convenience of description I separate the pottery of Chiriqui into two grand divisions: the _unpainted_ ware and the _painted_ ware. Two important groups come under the first head. The first of these, the terra cotta or biscuit ware, comprises a larger number of pieces than any other group and is readily distinguished by its colors, which include only the pale grayish yellow and reddish tints of the burned clay. The second is limited to a small number of pieces and is black or very dark upon the surface and dark within the ma.s.s.

_The terra cotta group._--This biscuit-like pottery is not in any way inferior to the painted varieties. It bears evidence of great freedom in handling, and serves, perhaps better than any other cla.s.s of products, to ill.u.s.trate the masterly skill and the refined taste of the ancient potter. It is said to occur in the same cemeteries and in the same graves with the more important varieties of painted ware. The function of these handsome vessels cannot be determined. It can hardly have been of a domestic nature, as they show no evidences of discoloration or wear, and we are left to speculate upon the possibility of a purely ceremonial use. The paste is moderately fine, but contains an extremely large share of gritty sand; the slip is thin and has received but a slight degree of polish, so that the surface has a dead, somewhat granular effect. As a rule the vases are of small size and are very thin walled. The forms are symmetrical and exceptionally graceful. The ornamentation includes incised figures (mostly geometric), raised decoration (of similar character), and animal forms in the round. The following ill.u.s.trations are intended to epitomize the mult.i.tude of forms, as anything like a complete representation is out of the question.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 70. Series of bowls and cups of unpainted ware.]

Bowls, which form a leading feature of the pottery of most primitive peoples, are here rarely seen, excepting as mounted upon tripods or annular bases. There are in the collection a number of small cups of hemispherical shape that may have served as spoons, ladles, or drinking vessels. A few of these are outlined in Fig. 70. Two have minute projections resembling handles affixed to the rim. In rare cases these are so prolonged as to be of service in handling the cup; but in no instance is there an approach to the long cylindrical handles seen in the earthenware of other districts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 71. Vase of graceful form--.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 72. Vase of graceful form--.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 73. Vase of fine form, ornamented with grotesque heads--.]

In following the form scale upward from these simple shapes we find the orifice becoming more constricted and the neck more p.r.o.nounced. The margins are upright, incurved, or flaring, and give variety and grace to the outlines. A tendency toward elaboration of ornament accompanies the development of form. Bands of incised or relieved figures are carried around the neck, shoulder, and handles and are added in such a way as greatly to enhance the beauty of the vessel. The forms of these vessels are so graceful and the finish is so perfect that one is tempted to present an extended series, but it will be necessary to confine the ill.u.s.trations to a limited number of type specimens. Fig. 71 shows a somewhat shallow form of great simplicity and grace. That in Fig. 72 is deeper, with a narrow neck and a more decidedly conical shape. Two minute grotesque figures are perched upon the shoulder. Fig. 73 represents a larger vessel of good form, which has a neat incised pattern encircling the slightly incurved neck. Grotesque heads are set upon the shoulder. A form somewhat more refined is shown in Fig. 74. The neck is furnished with a relieved ornament, consisting of a meandered and indented fillet, accompanied by two rows of minute indented nodes.

The heads are probably intended to represent the armadillo. They are hollow and contain movable pellets. The fillet ornaments are always tastefully treated, and in many cases represent twisted and plaited cords. Some are marked in herring bone fashion and others have transverse indentations. Small pellets of clay were much used and to excellent advantage. They were set on lightly with the fingers and firmly pressed down with minute pointed or edged tools and hollow straws or reeds (Figs. 75 and 76). Some of these nodes are finished to represent the heads of animals. This is done with an ease and a simplicity that call forth our admiration (Fig. 77).

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 74. Vase of fine form, ornamented with grotesque heads--.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 75. Vase with ornaments of applied nodes and fillets--.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 76. Vase with mantle covered with incised figures--.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 77. Vase with frieze of grotesque heads--.]

Fig. 78 ill.u.s.trates a series of vases having flaring rims, the treatment otherwise being uniform with the preceding. We notice in these vessels a decided tendency towards complexity of outline. Three examples, shown in Fig. 79, have a two storied character, the upper part possibly being the outgrowth of the collar ornament seen in so many cases. The large specimen in the center is a handsome piece with square offset at the shoulder and a decidedly conical base. A chaste ornament in relief encircles the neck and two grotesque figures are seated upon opposite sides of the shoulder. The vase at the left has two orifices, set wide apart. The body is oblong and slightly flattened above. There are a number of vessels of this conformation in the collection, some of which have the mouths so close together that the margins or lips coalesce in part. A superb specimen of this cla.s.s is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 80. The shape is thoroughly satisfactory to the eye, having a refinement of line rarely attained in native American work. Its symmetry suggests the use of the wheel, but the closest examination fails to detect a trace of mechanical appliance, save that left by the polishing stone. The decoration is simple and effective, consisting of minute nodes with annular indentations about the necks and of two grotesque figures, placed with consummate taste in the angles formed by the contact of the two necks.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 78. Vases with flaring rims and varied ornament--?.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 79. Vases with complex outlines and varied ornament--?.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 80. Large vase with two mouths and neatly decorated necks--.]