Cleveland Museum of Art
Vessel with Deity Mask
- Date
- 1200–900 BCE
- Medium
- ceramic, traces of pigment
- Culture
- Central Mexico (Las Bocas, Puebla?), Olmec, Formative Period
- Department
- Art of the Americas
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 162338
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
This unusual vessel is made of a U-shaped container and a sheet of clay modeled as a deity mask that is startling in its power: pierced eyes glare from the shadow of a muscular brow; the chin juts aggressively; and the part-bird, part-jaguar mouth opens in a shriek. This may be the face of the Olmec rain deity, the inspiration for much Olmec ritual and many accomplished works of art. The vessel may come from a grave or a buried offering.
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
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