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Source Description
This blackware bowl, created by people of the Olmec culture of southern Mexico (flourished ca. 1500 BCE – 300 BCE) shows the ancient civilization's sophisticated belief systems, artistic traditions, and networks of trade.The apparently simple, non-figurative design actually shows an abstracted image of a mythical creature known as the “Olmec dragon.” It combined features of different powerful predators of the region, including the harpy eagle, crocodile, and jaguar. The horizontal and vertical lines here show the fast-moving body and tufted eyebrows of this creature. The red pigment here is the mercury compound cinnabar, brought from sources hundreds of miles away.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
78416
label
Carved Bowl with Olmec Dragon Motif
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
78416
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Carved Bowl with Olmec Dragon Motif
description
This blackware bowl, created by people of the Olmec culture of southern Mexico (flourished ca. 1500 BCE – 300 BCE) shows the ancient civilization's sophisticated belief systems, artistic traditions, and networks of trade.The apparently simple, non-figurative design actually shows an abstracted image of a mythical creature known as the “Olmec dragon.” It combined features of different powerful predators of the region, including the harpy eagle, crocodile, and jaguar. The horizontal and vertical lines here show the fast-moving body and tufted eyebrows of this creature. The red pigment here is the mercury compound cinnabar, brought from sources hundreds of miles away.
provenance
Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, March 1990 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2008, by gift.
date
1200-900 BCE (Early Pre-Classic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
bowls (vessels)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
6.4
height
11.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 2 1/2 x Diam: 4 3/8 in. (6.4 x 11.1 cm)
Source extras
cul
Olmec
style
Las Bocas
med
ceramic blackware with cinnabar (?), red pigment (?)
creator_ids
8579
collection_ids
AME
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
776d1a782cd24040