Maya Tetrapod Terracotta Bowl

This wide-mouthed bowl raised upon four bulbous feet is formed in the style of mammiform tetrapod serving plates from the Maya lowlands of Mexico and Guatemala. Used as a presentation vessel, the petite bowl is coated in a glossy red-orange slip, now beautifully worn from many centuries of use. Although the monochrome decoration indicates this piece was an everyday object, vessels of this form were considered quite valuable and even served as political currency at the end of the Late Preclassic era. (400 BC - AD 100)