THE TRIPOD OR FISH GROUP. 



83 



the two preceding it, but all three are highly polished, particularly within, and 

 are more or less smoke-blackened on the outside. 



By comparing the last 

 three illustrations with the 

 two that follow, one sees at 

 a glance the superior form 

 and finish of the unpainted 

 ware. The tripod shown in 

 figure 137 is painted red, 

 both inside and outside, with 

 the exception of the neck 

 and twisted handles. The 

 single median slit is extend- 

 ed to the tip of the nose, 

 leaving no room for even 

 a single dorsal fin. The 

 rather prominent cat-fish 

 mouth is crossed from lip 

 to lip by a number of fillets. 

 The pectoral and ventral 

 fins are present, as is the 

 unpaired anal fin, which is 

 placed exactly opposite the 

 median dorsal slit on each 

 leg, and almost as far re- 

 moved from the tail as are 

 the ventral lateral fins. This 

 is the only occurrence of 



the anal fin in the entire collection. Professor 

 F. W. Putnam 1 did not find it in the series he 

 studied, and it is not mentioned by Holmes. 



The dorsal fin reappears in figure 138 simply 

 as an incised lump on the nose of the fish. The 

 pectoral and caudal fins are represented, but the 

 mouth is wanting. An incised band surrounds 

 the neck, being carried under the handles with- 

 out a break — an exception to the rule. The 

 handles are incised diagonally, giving them the 

 appearance of being twisted (see fig. 133). The 

 interior and exterior are both smeared with red 

 paint, which, however, does not completely hide 

 the slip at all points. 



The fish's mouth in figure 139 is elaborately finished. In the muzzle, on 

 either side of a median plane, there is a pair of openings that widen toward the 



Fig- 137- — Tripod with twisted handles, and supports in which the anal 

 fins are present. Fish ware. '/* 



Fig. 138. — Tripod in which the dorsal fin 

 appears as a lump on the nose of the 

 fish. Fish ware. V» 



1 Conventionalism in ancient American art. Bull. Essex inst., XVIII, 162, 1886. 



