Zapotec
Burial Vessel in the Form of the Rain God Cocijo
Zapotec, 600-900
Scroll
Zapotec
Burial Vessel in the Form of the Rain God Cocijo
Zapotec, 600-900
Physical Qualities
Earthenware, 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) H
Credit Line
Gift of Alan Wurtzburger
Object Number
1960.30.26
Deities of rain and agriculture are found in many Mesoamerican religions. These divine beings were believed to help cultures flourish in challenging climates like those found in areas of Central and Southern Mexico.
The Zapotec, who thrived in Oaxaca from around 500 BCE to 900 CE, created this burial vessel that takes the form of the rain god Cocijo. By providing much-needed rain, Cocijo made possible an agricultural cycle of renewal and growth. His presence in a burial cache alludes to the cyclical nature of life itself, as the death of the body ushered in a new phase of consciousness.
BMA by gift, 1960; Alan Wurtzburger, Baltimore; Charles Ratton, Paris
Wurtzburger Traveling
Ancient Americas Gallery Rotations 2021
Ancient Americas Gallery Rotations 2022
Ancient Americas Gallery Rotations 2023
Ancient Americas Rotations 2024
The Wurtzburger Collection of Pre-Columbian Art, Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1958, p. 24, no. 26, ill. p. 43.
Theodor-Wilhelm Danzel, "Mexiko II," Hamburg: Hamburg Museum, 1928, p. 59.
Herbert J. Spinden, "Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America," NY: American Museum of Natural History, 1928.
Alfonso Caso and Ignacio Bernal, "Urnas de Oaxaca," Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH), 1952, pp.113-116.
C. G. Vallant, "Aztecs of Mexico," Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965, pl. 10.
Frank Boas, "Ceramic Sculptures of Ancient Oaxaca," NY: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1966, p. 409.
Jonathan Pollack, "Ancient Oaxaca: Discoveries in Mexican Archaology and History, Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press, 1966.
"Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970, no. 157, 161,181.
Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, ed., "The Cloud People," NY: Academic Press, 1983.
John P. O'Neill, ed., "Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries," NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. no. 56, pp. 130-131.
Herbert J. Spinden, "Ancient Civilizations of Mexico and Central America," NY: American Museum of Natural History, 1928.
Alfonso Caso and Ignacio Bernal, "Urnas de Oaxaca," Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH), 1952, pp.113-116.
C. G. Vallant, "Aztecs of Mexico," Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965, pl. 10.
Frank Boas, "Ceramic Sculptures of Ancient Oaxaca," NY: A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1966, p. 409.
Jonathan Pollack, "Ancient Oaxaca: Discoveries in Mexican Archaology and History, Redwood City, CA: Stanford University Press, 1966.
"Before Cortes: Sculpture of Middle America, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1970, no. 157, 161,181.
Kent V. Flannery and Joyce Marcus, ed., "The Cloud People," NY: Academic Press, 1983.
John P. O'Neill, ed., "Mexico: Splendors of Thirty Centuries," NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990. no. 56, pp. 130-131.
Inscribed: 2 stickers on the back: "Ratton Paris," which indicates the seller was likely Charles Ratton, and "551" is a sticker that the Wurtzburger family put on themselves. There is also illegible cursive handwriting, likely executed in pencil, on the interior back edge of the bowl the figure is holding.
On View at the BMA
