Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed region, ca. 1 to 800 CE. An exceedingly large ceremonial metate carved from volcanic stone, with a round-cornered, rectangular table/seat, numerous looped forms attached to the underside of the seat, supported upon three legs. This metate represents one of the most unusual traditions of the ancient Americas. Metates were initially created to grind foods such as corn, certainly a utilitarian purpose; however, they evolved into meaningful ritual objects, replete with strong iconography and intriguing sculptural forms which transformed these objects into much more than a tool. Given the enormous scale and intriguing embellishent of loop attachments to this piece, it was probably intended as a throne of sorts for an elite ruler(s) or to seat a departed lord on his journey to the afterlife. The size and work involved to create this metate suggests a ceremonial function. The looped ornaments may be related to the identity of the owner the piece or the ritual in which the metate was used. Size: 15" L x 37.125" W x 7.5" H (38.1 cm x 94.3 cm x 19 cm)

Provenance: collection of the late Alfred E. Stendahl, Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles, California, USA

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#126388

Seat repaired from several large pieces and areas of loss to peripheries as shown. Legs reattached and in the process cleaned, so some of the original pigment has been removed.