GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The distinctive Veracruz ceramic style attributed to the Rio Blanco region features small, hemispheric bowls with exterior relief decoration. The bowls depict scenes in which ceremonially costumed human figures engage in ritual activity. On the Dallas bowl, two male figures sit, and four kneel on one leg. Each figure wears a patterned hip cloth, a necklace of circular beads (probably jade), a buccal mask (four have square noses and two have birdlike beaks) which covers the lower part of the face, and an elaborate headdress with prominent ear panels and lavish feathers. Four of the figures wear a capelike shoulder garment. The two seated figures hold stafflike objects, while the kneeling figures have winglike elements along their arms. The ritual they perform is unidentified, but other motifs that may prove significant in identifying the ritual are the dragonlike face and the leaf-and-stem element, both of which appear in several headdresses and in combination in the medallion on the base of the bowl.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 41.
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
NOTES
- Veracruz, Late Classic period, 600–900 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 06/18/14 and 03/14/16.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, Mar-11-1993, TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Attribution; Carolyn Tate, "Letter to William A. Fagaly, Curator of Collections/Assistant Director, New Orleans Museum of Art," in DMA Object File, Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1992), 1-2; Hasso von Winning, "Letter to Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art, DMFA," in DMA Object File, Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1992), 1.
- Added text entry, analysis of individual figures and exterior base of the bowl (1977.52). Source: Scanned notes and drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Gulf Coast Mesoamerican styles: AAT: 300108063
Classic Veracruz styles: AAT: 300017056
Late Classic Veracruz: AAT: 300266231
Geography
Veracruz (state): TGN: 7005599
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Río Blanco (stream): TGN: 7401663
Río Blanco (inhabited place): TGN: 1018093
Process/materials
ceramic (material): AAT: 300235507
clay: AAT: 300010439
glazing (coating): AAT: 300053914
incising: AAT: 300053847
modeling (forming): AAT: 300053130
relief (sculpture techniques): AAT: 300053622
tripods (stands): AAT: 300164679
tripod vessels (vessels / containers by form): DMA
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
vessels (containers): AAT: 300193015
bowls (vessels): AAT: 300203596
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ritual vessels: AAT: 300265801
ritual (events): AAT: 300065284
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
figures: AAT: 300189808
sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970
kneeling: AAT: 300265356
costume: AAT: 300209261
hip cloth (main garments): DMA
loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923
necklaces: AAT: 300046001
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
noses (animal or human components): DMA
beaks (animal components): AAT: 300400475
birds (motifs): AAT: 300375751
headdress: AAT: 300046023
ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279
feather (material): AAT: 300011809
capes (outerwear): AAT: 300046140
staffs (staff weapon components): AAT: 300204653
wings (animal components): AAT: 300375053
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
dragon: DMA
dragons (mythical beings): AAT: 300375726
plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599
medallions (ornament areas): AAT: 300077354
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until about 1960: Stolper Galleries (Morton Lipkin and Robert Stolper), Amsterdam [1]
About 1960-1965: Harold Kaye, New York, purchased from the above [1]
1965-1977: Alphonse Jax, New York, purchased at auction, "Primitive Art," Sotheby Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot 15, sale no. 2342 [1]
From 1977: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Object Record Form (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated December 8, 1977, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
- 253364354: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure A. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364372: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure B. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364390: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure C. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364407: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure D. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364425: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure E. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364442: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Figure F. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
- 253364338: UMO. [Caption] Drawing of 1977.52, Exterior Base. Source: Scanned images of drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
This piece is mold-made but was retouched after firing. Works such as this were often made specifically for elite burials, none of which are archaeologically intact. This example shows exactly the same ceremony as the "companion vessel" in the New Orleans Museum of Art (Isaac Delgado Museum, 1967.38). Though the exact ceremony is unknown, the dancing figure with feathers may have something to do with pulque rites and the shoulder capes are a symbol of the high elite in Veracruz. The ritual could thus represent a standard pulque ceremony or a burial rite.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1977.52
Category
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General Description
The distinctive Veracruz ceramic style attributed to the Rio Blanco region features small, hemispheric bowls with exterior relief decoration. The bowls depict scenes in which ceremonially costumed human figures engage in ritual activity. On the Dallas bowl, two male figures sit, and four kneel on one leg. Each figure wears a patterned hip cloth, a necklace of circular beads (probably jade), a buccal mask (four have square noses and two have birdlike beaks) which covers the lower part of the face, and an elaborate headdress with prominent ear panels and lavish feathers. Four of the figures wear a capelike shoulder garment. The two seated figures hold stafflike objects, while the kneeling figures have winglike elements along their arms. The ritual they perform is unidentified, but other motifs that may prove significant in identifying the ritual are the dragonlike face and the leaf-and-stem element, both of which appear in several headdresses and in combination in the medallion on the base of the bowl.
Adapted from
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 41.
- Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
Fun Facts
This piece is mold-made but was retouched after firing. Works such as this were often made specifically for elite burials, none of which are archaeologically intact. This example shows exactly the same ceremony as the "companion vessel" in the New Orleans Museum of Art (Isaac Delgado Museum, 1967.38). Though the exact ceremony is unknown, the dancing figure with feathers may have something to do with pulque rites and the shoulder capes are a symbol of the high elite in Veracruz. The ritual could thus represent a standard pulque ceremony or a burial rite.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Veracruz, Late Classic period, 600–900 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 06/18/14 and 03/14/16.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, Mar-11-1993, TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Attribution; Carolyn Tate, "Letter to William A. Fagaly, Curator of Collections/Assistant Director, New Orleans Museum of Art," in DMA Object File, Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1992), 1-2; Hasso von Winning, "Letter to Carolyn Tate, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art, DMFA," in DMA Object File, Bowl with ceremonially costumed figures (1977.52) (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1992), 1.
- Added text entry, analysis of individual figures and exterior base of the bowl (1977.52). Source: Scanned notes and drawings available in TMS Object Record: Related / Media.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Gulf Coast Mesoamerican styles: AAT: 300108063
Classic Veracruz styles: AAT: 300017056
Late Classic Veracruz: AAT: 300266231
Geography
Veracruz (state): TGN: 7005599
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Río Blanco (stream): TGN: 7401663
Río Blanco (inhabited place): TGN: 1018093
Process/materials
ceramic (material): AAT: 300235507
clay: AAT: 300010439
glazing (coating): AAT: 300053914
incising: AAT: 300053847
modeling (forming): AAT: 300053130
relief (sculpture techniques): AAT: 300053622
tripods (stands): AAT: 300164679
tripod vessels (vessels / containers by form): DMA
Historical periods
Classic (mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016983
Late Classic Period: AAT: 300016986
Individuals
Subject terms
vessels (containers): AAT: 300193015
bowls (vessels): AAT: 300203596
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ritual vessels: AAT: 300265801
ritual (events): AAT: 300065284
ceremonies: AAT: 300054754
figures: AAT: 300189808
sitting (seated): AAT: 300263970
kneeling: AAT: 300265356
costume: AAT: 300209261
hip cloth (main garments): DMA
loincloths (main garments): AAT: 300209923
necklaces: AAT: 300046001
masks (costume): AAT: 300138758
noses (animal or human components): DMA
beaks (animal components): AAT: 300400475
birds (motifs): AAT: 300375751
headdress: AAT: 300046023
ear ornaments: AAT: 300211279
feather (material): AAT: 300011809
capes (outerwear): AAT: 300046140
staffs (staff weapon components): AAT: 300204653
wings (animal components): AAT: 300375053
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
dragon: DMA
dragons (mythical beings): AAT: 300375726
plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599
medallions (ornament areas): AAT: 300077354
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Until about 1960: Stolper Galleries (Morton Lipkin and Robert Stolper), Amsterdam [1]
About 1960-1965: Harold Kaye, New York, purchased from the above [1]
1965-1977: Alphonse Jax, New York, purchased at auction, "Primitive Art," Sotheby Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 22, 1965, lot 15, sale no. 2342 [1]
From 1977: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Roberta Coke Camp Fund, purchased from the above [1], [2], [3]
[1] The main source for this provenance is Object Record Form (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated December 8, 1977, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File, Confidential). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
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Objects
number
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1977.52
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