Description:

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Nicoya Peninsula, Chorotega culture, ca. 600 to 1200 CE. A carved stone metate featuring a flat, slightly concave grinding surface supported by three sturdy legs and an extended head in the form of a jaguar. The feline's visage is stylized with circular eyes, a prominent snout, and bared teeth, embodying its symbolic association with power, valor, and spiritual guardianship in Mesoamerican tradition. Such metates were both functional and ceremonial, used for grinding maize and other staples, while also serving as prestige items in ritual contexts. Size: 27" L x 12.5" W x 11" H (68.6 cm x 31.8 cm x 27.9 cm)

Exhibited: "Recollective Echo," Hands-On Curatorial Program exhibition May-July 2019, Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Inc.

Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; ex-Enrique Vargas, Costa Rica

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#195988

  • Condition: Professionally cleaned. Some chips and old abrasions to corners and high pointed areas. Natural pitting to underside of stone, with some black surface discoloration. Overall excellent.

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August 22, 2025 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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