186 THE ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [ETn. anx. 25 



formed by this cross are occupied In" parallel incised lines ending or 

 alternating with shallow pits. These two areas, bounded on one 

 side by an incised gi'oove surrounding the mouth of the bowl, are 

 representations of wings. The bowl may l)e interpreted as an effigy 

 of a bird, the wings and tail taking the form of relief areas crossed by 

 incised lines. 



One of the finest specimens of Antillean pottery in the whole collec- 

 tion is figured on plate Lxxx, a, a' . and a" . This object, purchased 

 fi"om Archbishop Merino, of Santo Domingo, has been described in 

 the preliminary report of the expedition of that year. In its form 

 this remarkable object is exceptional, ^\^hen seen from the broad 

 side (a') it will be noticed that the specimen is flask-shaped, b\' reason 

 of two lateral extensions, each resemt)ling a human breast tipped 

 with a nipple. Its neck is not unlike that of the Ijottle-shaped vessel 

 already mentioned, and bears on one side a face with eyes, nose, and 

 prominent ears in low relief. This neck is attached to the body of the 

 flask with pitch, but it is not clear whether it was originally made in 

 this way or had been broken and later mended. The base is flat 

 and circular. On the surface of the vessel, surrounding the nipple- 

 like terminations of the lateral mammae, are incised grooves inclos- 

 ing other crcscentic lines, that are not continuous but broken l)y an 

 interval, a "'life door," in which are two short parallel incised lines, 

 a repetition of the characteristic mode of Antillean decoration to 

 which reference has been made in preceding pages. 



The surface of this vessel is rough, showing evidences of former 

 polish. The resemblance of the lateral extensions to mamma; and of the 

 neck to the male sexual organ suggests that this object may have a 

 phallic meaning; but whatever its import, it is one of the most excep- 

 tionalh' formed vessels yet found in the West Indies. 



The instructive and interesting bowl shown in h and h' was obtained 

 in Santo Domingo by Mr Gabb. Although its form is almost 

 spherical, it has a pronounced equatorial ridge and a neck well dif- 

 ferentiated from the body. The sides of this vessel are decorated 

 with two heads made in low relief and placed diametricallj' opposite 

 each other, a short distance below the neck. Each head is accompanied 

 by raised figures representing hands with palms turned outward. 

 Above the forehead are several ridges, forming a head ornament. 

 This specimen may be regarded as one of the finest pieces of unbroken 

 pottery from Santo Domingo in the Smithsonian collection, and is of 

 the type of several others, most of which exist on!} in fragments. 



There are two other bottle-shaped pieces of pottery in the Arch- 

 bishop Merino collection from Santo Domingo, l)oth of which bear 

 faces in relief on the luick. Plate lxxx, c, represents one of these. It 

 is characterized by a globular form, and an angular equatorial elevation, 



