id: 159279 accession number: 1995.72.b share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.72.b updated: 2019-01-22 00:30:31.260000 Lidded Bowl with Iguana , c. 600-1100. Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya region, 7th-12th Century. Ceramic, slip; lid: 29.9 x 38.1 cm (11 3/4 x 15 in.); lappets: 29.9 x 38.1 cm (11 3/4 x 15 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1995.72.b title: Lidded Bowl with Iguana title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 600-1100 creation date earliest: 600 creation date latest: 1100 current location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region creditline: Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund copyright: --- culture: Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya region, 7th-12th Century technique: ceramic, slip department: Art of the Americas collection: AA - Intermediate Region type: Ceramic find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Lid: 29.9 x 38.1 cm (11 3/4 x 15 in.); Lappets: 29.9 x 38.1 cm (11 3/4 x 15 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: At the time of the Spanish conquest in the 16th century, Costa Rican mythology linked iguanas to the sky and to rulers. The earlier makers of this vessel left no written records, but they may have had similar beliefs. The lizard poses as though basking in the sun, a celestial body, and displays aggressive behaviors that could be likened to a ruler's: the teeth menace and the semi-circular dewlap beneath the chin fans fully. Also, fine ceramics like this one were buried in the graves of the high-status dead, some of them certainly leaders of the several groups that competed in the area. The vessel's function during life is unknown. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES