Rare Costa Rican Stone Metate w/ Owl Legs

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Atlantic Watershed region, ca. 800 to 1400 CE. Carved from a single piece of porous, light grey volcanic stone, this is a ceremonial and ritual metate, probably made for an elite grave. This example is of a very rare form, with its two narrower back legs and large single front leg, all three carved in the form of a standing owl. Each owl has a long beak, a broad, heart-shaped face, and deeply set eyes. Their long bodies have small tummies that project outward over their delineated feet, which form the feet of the entire metate so that it looks delicately perched like a bird on a branch despite its weight and size. Size: 18.6" L x 12.5" W x 8.8" H (47.2 cm x 31.8 cm x 22.4 cm)

Metate technology developed initially for the utilitarian purpose of grinding corn; however, metates evolved into meaningful ritual objects, replete with strong iconography and intriguing sculptural forms. Examples of a larger scale but similar degree of decorative carving and iconographic symbolism were sometimes used to seat a departed lord on his journey to the afterlife. The owl was an animal associated in Mesoamerican myth with the underworld and death as well as shamanism, which may explain the artistic decision to include it with this funerary object.

Provenance: ex-private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection

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#148824 Dimensions: Condition Report: Expertly repaired at center. This is almost impossible to discern. There are two small chips from the edges, but otherwise the form and detail are very well preserved. Light deposits in the lower profile areas.