Vessel in the Form of a Seated Male Figure
- Culture
- Zapotec
- Date
- c.250–600 CE
- Material
- Ceramic with pigment
- Classification
- Ceramics, containers
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- 16 x 12 3/4 x 10 5/8 in. (40.6 x 32.4 x 27 cm)
diameter of brazier : 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 179:1979
NOTES
The central figure on this vessel wears a towering headdress made of layers of precisely cut clay molded into knots and floral motifs. The hair under the headdress has been piled and bundled on top of the head. To project a message of atonement and humility, the Zapotec often went without cutting and washing their hair. The figure also bears the attributes of Glyph Ñ, the fourth day in the Zapotec version of the 20-day Mesoamerican calendar. The fourth day was closely associated with the priestly class, particularly their sacrificial rituals. Glyph Ñ is referenced by the curved volutes around the figure’s eyes and the mask depicting a square-nosed serpent.
Provenance
- 1969
Everett Rassiga Inc., New York, NY, USA
1969 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Everett Rassiga Inc. [1]
1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated January 28, 1969 from Everett Rassiga Inc. to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "Six Monte Alban Vessels" [with 305:1978, 175:1979, 178:1979, 180:1979, 1226:1983]; a shipping record dated March 7, 1969 identifies the objects included in this sale [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.
Everett Rassiga Inc., New York, NY, USA
1969 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Everett Rassiga Inc. [1]
1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated January 28, 1969 from Everett Rassiga Inc. to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "Six Monte Alban Vessels" [with 305:1978, 175:1979, 178:1979, 180:1979, 1226:1983]; a shipping record dated March 7, 1969 identifies the objects included in this sale [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.