Cleveland Museum of Art

Dog Head

Date

500–1000

Medium

earthenware, asphalt and resin paint

Culture

Mexico, Gulf Coast

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This dog's snarl and protruding fangs lend him a sinister expression. Although pierced for suspension, the head seems too large and fragile to have been a pendant. Press-molds, used to create the dog's face and ears, were commonly used in the Gulf Coast region, where asphalt occurs naturally and was applied to pottery as a paint after firing. This ceramic was analyzed using thermoluminescence dating; it was fired between 900 and 1,500 years ago.

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