- Title
- Pedestal Plate with Catfish or Hammerhead Shark Creature
- Culture
- Greater Coclé
- Date Made
- 800–1200 CE
- Style
- Macaracas or Parita
- Medium
- Engobe-painted earthenware
- Dimensions
- Height: 7 3/4 × 8 3/4 in. (19.69 × 22.23 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2016.348.17
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Ancient Americas
- Curatorial Notes
Ancient Panamanian artists were intimately familiar with the animals living in their surroundings and drew inspiration for their designs from the natural world. Some creatures, although abstracted, are represented with a certain realism that allows us to identify them, such as this catfish. The barbels around the mouth are a key characteristic, but the undulating body with multiple lateral fins also corresponds to catfish biology. Nonetheless, this design was previously identified as a hammerhead shark, and we cannot be absolute in our interpretation. Although catfish in Panama are relatively small, they are equipped with stinging, venom-covered spines in their fins, which undoubtedly demand a certain respect.
Julia Burtenshaw
2018
