Artwork Page for Carved Bowl

Details / Information for Carved Bowl

Carved Bowl

1200–300 BCE

Mesoamerica, reportedly the Tepecoacuilco River Valley, Guerrero, Olmec style (1200-300 BC), Formative Period

Medium
stone (travertine)
Measurements
Overall: 13.3 x 23.5 x 10.2 cm (5 1/4 x 9 1/4 x 4 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2013.29
Public Domain
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Location
233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Print
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Did You Know?

Travertine is a type of limestone deposit commonly found in caves and hot springs.

Description

Containers made of translucent white travertine, known among the later Aztecs as tecali, are rare in Olmec artistic production. The shape of this elegant example, its rim pinched inward at the center, may refer to a squash. The meaning of the deeply carved abstract motifs, which retain traces of red pigment, is unknown. The bowl is said to have been found in a burial cache that included an Olmec figurine, a hematite mirror, and jade ornaments in Guerrero, Mexico.
Travertine stone carved bowl in the shape of an upside down trapezoid. The bottom half of the bowl is a blotchy grey which transitions to pale oranges and yellows, the entirety of the bowl covered in fine, brown scratches. A horizontal band crosses the center of the bowl with a square in the center, flanked by arcing organic designs with burnt orange pigment. A spiral decorates the rim of the bowl above the square.

Carved Bowl

1200–300 BCE

Mesoamerica, reportedly the Tepecoacuilco River Valley, Guerrero, Olmec style (1200-300 BC), Formative Period

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