Jaguar-Form Metate (Stone Grinder)
Unknown artist, Atlantic Watershed, central region of Costa Rica. Jaguar-Form Metate (Stone Grinder), 1000–1500 CE. Volcanic stone, 11 ⅝ x 38 ½ x 17 ¾ inches. Denver Art Museum Collection: Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 1995.582.
Jaguar-form Metate
About A.D. 1000–1500
Costa Rica or Nicaragua, Greater Nicoya region
Volcanic stone (vesicular andesite)
Gift of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 1995.582
This metate, or grinding platform, takes the form of a fierce feline (probably a jaguar) with bared teeth and staring eyes. The legs, tail, and platform edges are decorated with geometric interlace patterns – abstract representations of the jaguar’s spotted pelt. The animal’s supernatural nature is demonstrated by the presence of much smaller human figures between the cat’s front and back legs.
The plate’s curved surface is worn smooth by grinding, but it is uncertain what foods, medicines, or magical substances were processed in it. The delicacy of the metate’s form suggests that it was used for special occasions, rather than for everyday purposes.