Olmec / Bowl (Tecomate) / 12th?10th century B.C.

Olmec
Bowl (Tecomate)
12th?10th century B.C.
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Creator Nationality: North American; Central American; Mesoamerican; Olmec
Creator Name-CRT: Olmec
Title: Bowl (Tecomate)
View: Principal view
Creation Start Date: 0
Creation End Date: 0
Creation Date: 12th?10th century B.C.
Creation Place: Mexico
Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Materials and Techniques: ceramic
Dimensions: H. 4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm)
Description: A common vessel type called a tecomate, this bowl was shaped by hand into a gourd form using coils of clay, and the surface was finished by burnishing. Actual gourds of similar shape have been used for everyday storage in Mesoamerican households since at least the second millennium B.C.; the very word tecomate means gourd. By emulating such a quotidian object, the potter evoked the vessel's origin in natural forms while creating an object of greater value that indicated the elevated social status of its owner. While numerous tecomates are said to be from highland sites such as Tlatilco and Las Bocas in central Mexico, the comparatively heavy, thick walls of this example suggest that it might be from one of the Gulf Coast Olmec sites such as San Lorenzo or La Venta.
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York
ID Number: 1989.314.18
Credit Line: Gift of Arthur M. Bullowa, 1989
Copyright: Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/education/er_photo_lib.asp
AMICA ID: MMA_.1989.314.18
AMICA Library Year: 2002
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright (c) 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Rights Reserved

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