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Zapotec - Figural Urn of a Masked Deity - Walters 2006158 - Three Quarter
Summary
This funerary urn presents one of the most important Zapotec deities, Cociyo, the Lightning/Storm God. Such urns were placed in elaborate tombs, often in groups. Zapotec tombs were regularly re-entered for ancestor veneration, when incense may have been burned in the urns.
As is typical of figural funerary urns of the Zapotecs, this piece is made of fine grained gray clay, with smoothed and burnished outer surfaces. In several respects, however, this example is unlike most known examples. First, the figure lacks any indication of clothing or a headdress- features all but ubiquitous on Zapotec urns. While the face carries sufficient decorative treatment to identify the deity (split tongue, mask-like mouth assemblage, eyebrow treatment) more glyphic-like elements normally appear in the headdress, on the chest as pectorals, etc. Such motifs clarify the identity of represented ancestors or deities. It is plausible, however, that these costume elements were made of organic materials lost to time. Second, while the crossed leg articulation is the norm, the feet are normally indicated with an additional rectangular slab of clay, whereas here the feet are indicated by rather cursive incisions alone. Two possible explanations for these variations are: this example is particularly early, and/or the piece may be a regional variant of the type.
The Zapotec civilization was an ancient Mesoamerican culture that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca in what is now Mexico. The Zapotecs were one of the earliest civilizations in Mesoamerica, and their civilization was one of the most advanced and sophisticated of the time. The Zapotecs developed a complex system of writing, as well as impressive architectural and artistic achievements. The civilization reached its peak between 500 BC and AD 500, after which it began to decline. The Zapotecs were eventually conquered by the Aztecs, but their culture and traditions continue to be celebrated in modern-day Mexico.
An urn is a vase, often with a cover that usually has a somewhat narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an ‘urn’, as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or origin. The term is especially often used for funerary urns, vessels used in burials, either to hold the cremated ashes or as grave goods, but is used in many other contexts. Large sculpted vases are often called urns, whether placed outdoors, in gardens or as architectural ornaments on buildings, or kept inside. Cremation urn means a container where the cremated remains or cremation ashes received after cremating a dead body can be stored. Cremation ashes urns have been used throughout the history of mankind. Cremation has a longer history than most people expect. Cremation is one of the longest standing processes and memorial traditions in our history. Cremation has long been a controversial topic throughout human history. Some cultures and religions support cremation, some find it lugubrious and even go as far as to say that it is an inappropriate disposition of the human body. Interesting to note is that while many religions are up in the air as to whether cremation is acceptable or not - even to this day - cremation was part of the memorial traditions in the stone age.
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