Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Olmec culture, ca. 10th to 6th century BCE. A pretty incised blackware cup with cinnabar coloring in the incisions. A long, low handle juts out from the lower body of the cup. The incised design is a register of "x"es and lines around the upper body and a lower register of what appears to be glyphs (see below). Olmec vessels like this were portable objects that traveled around their area of influence to places like Tlatilco, Tlapacoya, Las Bocas, and San Jose Mogote, transmitting Olmec iconography like the ones incised here. Size: 7.5" L x 4.1" W x 3.8" H (19 cm x 10.4 cm x 9.7 cm)

The incised glyphs on this carving are probably epi-Olmec or proto-Mayan. Epi-Olmec, like Mayan, consists of glyphs, often written in lines or columns. Although not all of it has been deciphered, what we know of this language is that it describes religious notions and, to a lesser extent, socio-political matters. It is not clear if glyphs are both pictographic and ideographic, or what role phonograms might have played, and this remains a hotly studied component of Mesoamerican archaeology. With all these questions, can we say anything about this cup? Barring some exceptional circumstances, it was owned by a wealthy person, and buried with them; its glyphs probably speak to the status of the individual or offer a prayer.

Provenance: Ex-Berman collection acquired before 1975

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#118782

Handle is repaired; small crack/chip to rim. Extensive root marks on interior.