114 ANCIENT ART OF THE PROVINCE OF CHIRIQUI. 



design. In oxainining the decoration of this ware it is essential that 

 this fac-t should l:)e kept in mind, as otherwise great confusion will 

 result. 



The nature of the materials employed cnnnot !"• determined. Ap- 

 plied to the polished surface, tlir\ were easily removed. The black 

 ground tint is now easily rubhed nil' and in most cases is much in- 

 jured by handling oi- by cnntact with the soil. The lost color may 

 have been similar to tlie white, argillaceous pigment used by the 

 Aztecs, whicli lias in iiiaii>- cases partially or wholly disappeared, 

 leavin- iis mailcs \\\u>]\ the ■;r(iunil either by deadening the polish or 

 by reniuN Dig in .rt ions of tliesli]iand tiie jiasteujjon which it was laid, 

 presenting the ornament in intaglio. 



The designs are infinitely varied in appearance and arrangement, 

 yet are far from havjng a mixed or heterogeneous character. It is 

 probably our lack of knowledge of the origin and history of the ele- 

 ments and their derivations that causes confusion. Both geometric 

 and imitative elements abo\ind and are blended in perfectly graded 

 series. The treatment of geometric figures is peculiar to Chiriqui 

 and in many respects is peculiar to this group of ware. Classic 

 forms, such as the meander, the scroll, and the fret, rarely occur 

 and are barely recognizable. It appears from a close study of all the 

 work that motives cierived from natui-e liaAc greatly lea\-ened the 

 whole body of decoration. This mattei- «ill ieeei\c atteiitimi as the 

 examples are presented aiid will be treate<l with greater care in a 

 succeeding section. 



Plastic decoration, aside from the life forms so commonly associated 

 with the body of the vase and with the handles and legs, is not of 

 importance. The high degree of iiulish rec|uired in this ware tended 

 to simplify all relieved features. 



The presence of life forms in relief has produced important modifi- 

 cations in the appearance and the arrangement of the painted devices, 

 and in many cases there is a manifest correlation between the plastic 

 and the painted forms: as, for example, when the body of the vase was 

 thought of as the body of the animal, the extremities of which were 

 placed upon its sides, the colored figures carried out the idea of the 

 creature by imitating in a niore or less conventional way the mark- 

 ings of the body. This will be understood through reference to the 

 examples presented in the following pages. 



I will present, first, a series of bottles, selecting at the beginning 

 those decorated in the nmre ])Ui'i'ly neometrie style and gradually 

 approaching those upon whieli animal Innns are ti-ealed in a literal 

 manner. The few pieces se]e<'teil for illustratiini are totally inade- 

 quate to the proper representation of the group and must be regarded 

 only as average specimens, more or less typical in character. 



I give first a niimber of examples in which the decorative devices 

 are arranged in horizontal zones. In Fig. 1G3 broad bauds of orna- 



