Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed, ca. 100 to 500 CE. A hand-carved stone grinding platform known as a metate supported atop a quartet of thick feline legs. The rectangular vessel is flanked by a pair of abstract jaguar heads - each with protruding eyes, raised whiskers, slender snouts, and perky ears - and the peripheries of the basin rim are incised with decorative zigzagging bands. Metate technology developed initially for the utilitarian purpose of grinding corn; however, the objects evolved into meaningful ritual objects, replete with strong iconography and intriguing sculptural forms. Size: 11.625" L x 4.625" W x 3.875" H (29.5 cm x 11.7 cm x 9.8 cm)

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#172942

Repair to area of basin rim and one leg, with small chips and light adhesive residue along break lines. Nicks to jaguar heads, legs, and basin, with softening to some finer details, and coarse surface texture in scattered areas.