THE ALLIGATOR GROUP. 



129 



Fig. 2 12. — Profile of alligator with head turned backward, the 

 long lower jaw being balanced by the well developed nuchal 

 appendage. 'I' 



on head, neck and tail; and the curve of the back emphasized by the uplifted 



head and tail. 



In both form and finish, the piece shown in figure b is more characteristic of 



the alligator ware. The line of the shoulder passes without a break into the line 



of the neck. The latter is slightly flaring and ends bluntly without any marked 



lip differentiation. The entire outer surface, except the lip, is finished in a pale 



yellow slip. There is no paneling about the two alligators on the shoulder, the 



head of each reaching almost to 



the tail of the other. Each figure 



is in black and red, the outline 



being a slender band of black and 



the interior, red. The shape is 



influenced by the contour of the 



surface to be decorated, which in 



a measure at least would account 



for the upturned snout, the very 



long lower jaw curving downward 



and backward on itself, the curve 



of the long tail, and the enormous 



development of the occipital or 



nuchal appendage — a sort of ex- 

 aggerated spine, with a smaller 



spine in black near its base. The characteristic swaying downward of the back, 

 noted by Holmes, may also be traced to the same source. Details such as teeth 

 and toes are left out. The profile is, as usual, absolute. Very similar to the 

 preceding is figure c, reproducing a vase discolored by smoke. The shape of the 

 vase is practically the same, as is also the treatment of the alligator, except that 

 the secondary spine is missing and the hanging lower jaw curves upward into 

 the wide-open mouth, instead of downward. 



The design on the shoulder of a double-necked vase from .Bugavita (fig. d) 

 looks at first glance like a meaningless bundle of waving arms. The groundwork 

 is red, as usual, and the outlines are in black. The 

 whole is a conventional treatment of the alligator, the 

 neck being turned so as to project the exaggerated jaws 

 backward over the entire length of body and tail. The 

 lower jaw, which is turned downward at the end, follows 

 rather closely the curve of the back and tail. The snout 

 is upturned. There is a long curved nuchal appendage 

 acting as a balance to the prolonged mandible on the 

 left. The space between and below is amply filled by 



a relatively small trunk, tail and legs. The alligator on the opposite side is re- 

 produced in figure 212. 



The lines are much easier to follow in figure e, where the jaws are comparatively 

 short and straight. The nuchal appendage, though reduced in size, is still prom- 

 inent. Somewhat more sketchy is the representation of the alligator in figure /. 

 The head proper is the most prominent part, the red foundation enclosing a 

 Memoirs Conn. Acad., Vol. III. 17 



Fig. 213. — Profile of alligator 

 in which only the head and 

 nuchal crest remain prom- 

 inent. */» 



