SPURIOUS MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES. 



125 



found in many collections, and being- separated from the vasos to -svliicli 

 they belonged are esteemed as valnablo relics. 



A characteristic S])ecimen, decorated with interlocked serpents and 

 with heads of men and birds, is shown in Fig. 5. It is rndely made of 

 brownish clay and is rather recent work of the San Juan makers. 



I must not omit mention of the manufacture of calendar disks in clay, 

 although I cannot say positively that they are made at San Juan. These 

 objects are often used as lids of vases, as in the example presented in 

 Fig. G. They are generally made to resemble more or less closely 



the well known stone calendars and are executed in dark clay. 

 The conventional figure seen ujwn this vase is the impression of one 

 of the well-known stamps found plentifully in Mexico, and supposed 

 by the modern i)otters to have been used l)y the ancients in a similar 

 way. But a careful examination of the ancient ware indicates that 

 there is little warrant for this assumption. A curious piece — a clay 

 calendar about 15 inches in diameter and evidently quite new — 

 was recently brought by Dr. E. Palmer from Guadalajara, INIexico. 

 It is of a species wholly distinct from specimens found in the valley 

 of Mexico. This discovery indicates that the business is extending. 

 Whether or not the State of Jalisco, in which Guadalajara is situated, 

 has furnished any example of ancient calendar peculiar to the region 

 I can not say. 



A great variety of statuettes are made at San Juan, and copies of 

 the peculiar little antique heads, for which the locality is noted, are 

 reproduced in great numbers. 



Vases and other articles of somewhat different and often remarkable 

 styles are more frequently met with in or near the City of Mexico. They 

 also may be made at San Juan and elsewhere, but since the j^otter is, to 

 some extent, migratorj^, the exact locality is of little consequence. They 

 are of a brownish uucolored clay, or are finished in strong glistening 



