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ANCIENT ART OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIRIQUI. 



in hands and feet. The attitude is expressive of agony or horror. 

 It seems to me probable that, contrary to the rule in primitive art, 

 these strange figures do not embody any well defined or serious con- 

 ception, but are rather exhibitions of the fancy of the potter. They 

 occupy small unjiainted panels, which are finished in neat incised pat- 

 terns. The remaining ■-luf m^ iv i liria:ht red. 



Fig 1.t3. Romid bodied vase embellished with figures of monsters 



It may be noted, in recapitulation, that these vases, although elabo- 

 rately modeled and often well finished, are rudely decorated and very 

 generally show use over fire ; that the legs, though often graceful 

 and well proportioned, are in many cases clumsily adjusted to the 

 body, giving a decidedly unsatisfactory result as a whole. This ware 

 was devoted to domestic uses, or, if otherwise, in all probability to 

 the burning of incense. Animal forms are freely employed, but in 

 a rather rude way. The fish form is more generally used than any 

 other, and is in all cases embodied in the legs of the vessel, the head 

 joining the body of the vessel and the tail resting upon the ground. 

 These representations exhibit all grades of elaboration from the fairly 

 well modeled to the merest suggestion of animal character — any one 

 feature, as the mouth, the eye, the fins, or the tail, being alone a suf- 

 ficient suggestion of the creature to satisfy the potter and keep alive 

 the idea of the fish. Other animal forms are employed in modeling 

 the legs, and exhibit equally varying degrees of elaboration, and it is 



