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© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
Bowl with Crab Motif
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
ClassificationsArt of the Americas

Bowl with Crab Motif

Place CreatedPanama, North America
CultureConte
PeriodPeriod VIA
Date600-800 CE
MediumCeramic
Credit LineGift of William C. and Carol W. Thibadeau
Dimensions2 3/4 x 7 13/16 in. (7 x 19.8 cm)
Object number1990.011.289
Exhibition HistoryIntricate Explorations: Cocle Ceramics from the Permanent Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 24 - December 18, 1994
Five Continents-Nine Millennia, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport, International Concourse E, Atlanta, Georgia, March 1995 - November 1996
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 13, 2002 - June 2012
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, February 9, 2013 - February 6, 2017
Published ReferencesMary W. Helms, Creations of the Rainbow Serpent: Polychrome Ceramic Designs from Ancient Panama (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1995).
Rebecca Stone-Miller, Seeing With New Eyes: Highlights of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Collection of Art of the Ancient Americas (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2002), 164, figure 389.
ProvenanceEx coll. William (1920-2002) and Carol (1921-2019) Thibadeau, Atlanta, Georgia, possibly purchased from Speyer collection, January 1969.
Status
Not on view
Collections
  • Art of the Americas
Technical NotesA purple slip began to appear on Panamanian pottery of the Coclé region around 500 AD. The coloration of this slip is unusual because most purple slips in the Americas are more maroon. The production technology of these Panamanian ceramics has been little studied, and many uninformed statements have been made about the identification of the purple slip. Former Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Conservator Kathryn Etre studied the technology of these ceramics to identify the firing temperature of these ceramics and the mineral of the purple slip. This presentation describes the use of various analytical techniques, including polarized light microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray florescence to characterize the minerals within these ceramics. Additionally, experimental archaeology was used to recreate this ceramic production technology.