Bowl in the Form of a Head

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Culture Zapotec

Title Bowl in the Form of a Head

Date 800–100 BCE

Medium Clay

Dimensions Object: 4 3/4 × 7 1/4 in. (12.1 × 18.4 cm)
Overall: 4 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (12.1 x 18.4 cm)

Credit Line Raymond and Laura Wielgus Collection, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 81.32.4

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About this Work

The expressive quality and fine craftsmanship of this bowl are matched by very few ceramics from Monte Albán, the ancient ceremonial center in southern Mexico’s state of Oaxaca. The Zapotec culture is well known today for its ceremonial gray-ware, including bowls depicting animals and humans, as well as creatures whose features are an unclear mixture between the two, as is true here.

This face represents an old man or a deity, perhaps one later known as the Old Fire God, who is usually depicted with a wrinkled face, or a monkey deity who was the patron of scribes, artists, musicians, and dancers.

Provenance
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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Bowl in the Form of a Head | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=81.32.4