Object of the Week: Jaguar Metate from Costa Rica

Metate, c.300-700 A.D.
Nicoya Region, Costa Rica
Volcanic stone; 31 in. x 12 in. x 12 in.
Purchased with funds provided by Dr. James Block Pick and Dr. Rosalyn M. Laudati
Bowers Museum #97.40.1

Made of volcanic stone this intricately carved metate is the finest of Bowers Museum’s Costa Rican stone work collection. The tripod metate has three slab legs with incised geometric designs and openwork carving that has been suggested to represent a repeating upside down parrot motif. The head is an effigy of a feline, specifically a jaguar. The area of the head between the top of the nose and the crest of the head consists of two strands of undulating stone lines that create a band of repeating diamond shapes. With lips pulled back and sharp teeth bared the jaguar is obviously portrayed in a ferocious manner. Along the object’s back is an eloquently sloped plate with rimless border; an interlocking pattern appears on each of the plates longest sides.

Most metates are used as surfaces for the grinding and preparation of foods. Elaborate metates such as the one pictured here however are associated with high status and wealth and were commonly placed within graves of prominent individuals. It is not entirely impossible that metates of this quality may have served in food related ceremonial circumstance during life, but the fact that it is very uncommon to unearth a metate together with a mano (the tool used to grind foodstuffs on a metate’s plate) has discouraged such an idea.

All images and text under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use.

Objects of the Week: Celery Vases, Photograph and Pamphlet

Pamphlet, c.1900
Orange County, California The Most Celebrated Celery District in the World
Bowers Museum #31462

Printed for the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce about 1900 this pamphlet heralds Orange County as The Most Celebrated Celery District in the World. The pamphlet is an early example of promotional material intended to draw investors and residents to the area – but why use celery? Celery gained popularity as a food especially during the late 19th century. Difficult to grow and costly to buy, celery was an extravagant delicacy. Stalks placed in water were the featured centerpiece of tables - small indicators of a home’s status and wealth. Celery Vases like the ones pictured below were used specifically for this purpose. (Incidentally the Celery Vase was replaced by the horizontal Celery Dish once the food became more ordinary and easier to obtain). In 1900 Orange County celery growers were able to produce an abundant two crops a year and were exporting 1800 train car loads of the food annually! The photograph below shows men working an Orange County celery field circa 1900. On the horse drawn cart are hundreds of well crated stalks.








Celery Fields, c.1900
Photograph by Cochems
Bowers Museum #33578



Celery Vases
Wheeling, West Virginia, c.1870-1881; 10 in. height Indiana Glass Company c.1890; 6 in. height
Pressed glass designs
Bowers Museum #82.49.4 and 33756A



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Object of the Week: Danganan (Ceremonial Sword Handle), Mindanao Island, Philippines

Danganan, early 20th century
Maranao Culture, Mindanao Island, Philippines
Ivory, copper, silver and wood; 8 in x 5.5 in.
Bowers Museum #96.27.1
Pick Laudati Fund Purchase

This exquisite and rare example of a danganan (ceremonial sword handle) once belonged to a Maranao royal. The danganan dates to the first half of the 19th century, a time between the fall of the old royal sultanate and the Spanish occupation of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. During this time several claimants and out right pretenders made attempts to establish power and declare rule over their own sultanates. The danganan, a symbol of authority and power, functioned like a scepter and was part of the “sultans’” regalia. The ivory knob is shaped as a stylized bird, the mythical sarimanok – the symbol of Maranao royalty, its people and of the high lake region they are associated with.

Islamic influence has shaped much of Maranao culture and the wide bands stamped with shaped tools are evidence of such influence. The elaborate shaft is covered in rings of silver, the narrower of which are worked to show texture. Alternating bands of gilt copper rings are overlaid with gold. Because the object is ceremonial in purpose, the blade attached to it, if any, would have likely been made of wood.

All text and images under copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.

Object of the Week: Bena Biombo Mask

Mask, 20th Century
Bena Biombo Culture; Democratic Republic of Congo
Wood, Paint, Feathers; 16 in. x 8 in.
Bowers Museum Foundation Acquisition Fund Purchase
Bowers Museum #F78.4.1

Within the Kasai province in central Democratic Republic of Congo are a number of very small, sometimes ancient tribes who have retained their individuality. Among them are the Bena Biombo who are best known for their masks of diverse type. This mask with half-closed eyes and arched eyebrows radiates a peaceful, benevolent air. The incised geometric designs across the cheeks and chin indicate tribal scarifications. Although Bena Biombo masks resemble those neighboring tribes, the three appendages on top of the head identify this mask as originating with the Bena Biombo. Feathers are attached to the top of the mask when it is worn. A woven support of reed encases the back of the mask to provide a secure fit for the wearer's head and ruffled grass extends from the back of the meshed reed around to the front of the mask. Although masks of this type may have served other religious and ceremonial purposes at an earlier date, today they are used primarily for entertainment and masquerades.

All text and images under copyright. Please contact the Collection Department for permission to use.