Zapotec
Head fragment of a rabbit effigy
Zapotec, 1-500
Physical Qualities
Earthenware, red pigment, slip paint, reduction fired, 3 9/16 × 4 3/4 × 4 1/2 in. (9 × 12 × 11.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Bernice Barth, Los Angeles
Object Number
2004.228
Rabbits figure significantly in Zapotec iconography and symbolism. The animal is closely associated with the moon and appears as the eighth day sign of the Zapotec calendar. While today's audiences see a man on the moon, ancient Zapotecans envisioned a rabbit's face. Rabbits are also associated with pulque, an intoxicating beverage. The pulque gods are known collectively as "400 rabbits." Those born on the day sign 2-rabbit were vulnerable to the ill effects of the drink.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2004; Bernice Barth, Los Angeles
According to Barth, her husband Arthur purchased the object in Los Angeles from Bob Lindsley in 1960, 10 years prior to federal import restrictions (e.g., UNESCO 1970). It is my observation that it conforms to the style and technology of comparable Zapotec ceramics of known authenticity.
According to Barth, her husband Arthur purchased the object in Los Angeles from Bob Lindsley in 1960, 10 years prior to federal import restrictions (e.g., UNESCO 1970). It is my observation that it conforms to the style and technology of comparable Zapotec ceramics of known authenticity.
