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Large "Bahia Monster" Jar
Large "Bahia Monster" Jar

Large "Bahia Monster" Jar

Dateca. 500-300 B.C.
MediumCeramic
Dimensions13 1/2 x 15 inches (34.3 x 38.1 cm)
Culturebetween Chorrera and Bahia Phases (Ecuador)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Peggy and Tessim Zorach
Terms
  • Manabí
  • Ceramics
  • Ceramic
  • Animals
  • Monsters
  • Snakes
  • Between Chorrera and Bahia Phases
Object number74.053.131
Label CopyThis "Bahia Monster" funerary jar is a particularly large and fine example of its type. Its essentially snake-like nature is demonstrated through its triple tongue and the four snake-head limbs, as well as by the multicolored diamond-shaped markings around the body of the jar. These vessels are very similar to the Chorrera or Late Formative Period coiled serpent jars from the same region, but the Bahia vessels portray a much more fantastic creature than on the Chorrera ceramics. The Bahia monster may have been invented to link the transformation process of the creation of pottery with the transition from life to death and the entry of the soul into the Underworld. The association of serpents with death and with the Underworld is common in ancient Precolumbian imagery. (From “A Handbook of the Collection: Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art," 1998) • BRIEF DESCRIPTION This is a ceramic Bahía jar with a “monster” on the surface. WHERE WAS IT MADE? This jar was made in the coastal region of what is now Ecuador. HOW WAS IT MADE? This large jar was hand-built with the coil method. In this method, a base is made by shaping clay into a flat disc. Then hand-formed coils of clay, like ropes, are successively added to one another, building up the walls of the bowl. A tool such as a wooden paddle is used to smooth the sides both inside and out, leaving no trace of the coils. The heads that emerge from the surface of the jar were hand modeled and attached separately. Before the jar was fired, decorative lines were incised into the still-pliable clay with a stylus, and it was painted with red and cream colored slip. Unlike resin-based paints applied after firing, which wash off if scrubbed and burn off when heated, slip-painted decoration is relatively resistant to ordinary wear and tear. Slip paint is made by mixing different-colored clays or ground mineral pigments with water. Although some colors are naturally present in the clay, others can be made by adding powdered minerals to clay; for example, minerals high in iron produce rich oranges and reds, while those containing various forms of copper produce blues and greens. HOW WAS IT USED? The function of pre-Columbian ceramic vessels is not easy to ascertain. Were these vessels made for the dead, fancy grave goods with specific religious or mythical imagery, or were they treasured possessions used in life? Or both? Although most pottery made in the past was functional ware used to cook, store, or serve foods, more elaborate pieces also conveyed social information. WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS? This "Bahía Monster" jar is a particularly large and fine example of its type. Notice the many snake-like aspects of the animal motifs and designs. The head of the main figure sticks out a triple tongue with what appear to be small snakes heads at the ends (one of them has been broken). It also appears to have four snake-headed limbs, and the body of the jar is decorated with multicolored diamond-shaped markings. This monster figure may have been invented to link the transformation process of the creation of pottery with the transition from life to death and the entry of the soul into the Underworld. The association of serpents with death and with the Underworld is common in ancient pre-Columbian imagery. The other-worldly nature of these “monsters” may also be a window into the world of visions entered through the use of hallucinogenic drugs. Hallucinogenic drugs were commonly used by religious specialists (shamans) to commune with the supernatural world. Visions of the supernatural beings seen in such spirit journeys played an important role in the cosmology or spiritual life of these peoples; the fantastic creatures, part-human, part-beast, depicted on some ceramic figurines and vessels are a physical record of such iconography. ABOUT THE BAHÍA CULTURE: The Bahía culture developed on the coast of Ecuador near the Bahía de Caráquez. The Bahía people were farmers who also harvested wild foods, especially marine resources such as fish and shellfish. That the Bahía people were skilled mariners is evidenced not only by their use of seafood but by the presence of their remains on the Isla de la Plata, located some 50 km away by sea. The Bahía people lived in chiefdoms, in communities of perhaps 5,000 people, with residential areas set apart from special-use areas such as stepped platform-mound temples and plazas. The dead were cremated and then buried with ceramic figures. Some of the more unusual Bahía artifacts include anthropomorphic tusk effigy amulets (said to be modeled after sperm whale teeth), rectilinear “gaming stones” incised with circles, and “dragon” or “monster” fantasy figures incorporating elements of several natural creatures. The Bahía culture shares many characteristics, such as the presence of polypod bowls and other ceramic vessel shapes, with the neighboring Regional Development Period (500 BC-AD 500) cultures of Guangala, Jama-Coaque, and La Tolita, all of which are local successors to the earlier, more widespread Chorrera cultural horizon.
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