Burial Urn with Seated Figure
Burial Urn with Seated Figure
Moskito
A.D. 1000–1500
Colombia, Lower Magdalena River region
Earthenware
Frederick and Jan Mayer Collection, 1988.162A&B
In the Magdalena River region of ancient Colombia secondary burial was practiced: after a death, the body was buried until the flesh decayed, or flesh was removed from the bones by other means. The bones were then collected, placed in a ceramic urn, and ceremoniously interred in a shaft grave. The dignified modeled figure on the lid of this urn likely portrays the deceased. His expression is serene, and he wears ear, arm and leg jewelry. The bulging calves indicate the use of ligatures (tight bands) that were believed to strengthen the limbs.
Full-figure portrait burial urns were also produced by peoples living near the mouth of the Amazon, in what is now Brazil (see 2006.17). Some of these urns were deposited in caves, rather than in graves.
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