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Collections

Pedestal Plate with Spider600–900 CE

On view:
Geffen Galleries
Ceramic pedestal bowl with red-brown exterior and cream interior, decorated with two dark painted bands along the rim and a curved, plant-like motif at the center
Ceramic bowl viewed from above, with a red-slipped rim and two concentric dark bands encircling a cream interior. A painted motif of radiating curved lines flanks a central oval form in dark brown and red-orange.
Title
Pedestal Plate with Spider
Culture
Greater Coclé
Place Made
Panama, Coclé Province, Conte style
Date Made
600–900 CE
Style
Conte
Medium
Engobe-painted earthenware
Dimensions
2 7/8 x 7 1/2 in. (7.30 x 19.05 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Drs. Alan Grinnell and Feelie Lee
Accession Number
M.2007.227.9
Classification
Ceramics
Collecting Area
Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes

A rare motif in Panamanian ceramics is the spider, which on this small pedestal plate has been painted with a blue body and red appendage on a plain, cream background. The Indigenous Guna (also Kuna) of present-day Panama often create spiders and spider-web designs on their molas (multilayered textile panels made for women’s blouses; see M.2009.40.16 and M. 2009.40.19), and in other Indigenous cultures of the Americas, spiders are believed to have given humans the knowledge of weaving. Perhaps the exaggerated number of legs on this spider emphasizes the intricate weaving abilities of this small creature.

Camille Neira

2024