Featured Unknown artifact found in ceiling

We found this artifact in the ceiling and have no idea what it is. Any ideas?

Unknown pot by Designcharm posted Jun 10, 2019 at 5:54 PM

 

Welcome, Designcharm. Couple questions to get folks thinking and/or researching.

1, Where in the world is the building this was found in? Does anyone know the history of said building? How long was it found?

2. What material is this made of? Looks vaguely ceramic, but you know better than we will just looking at the picture.

 

need way more pics before I venture Pre-Co pot of some sort !!

 

Succulent/Cactus pot?

 

many incised globular tripod jars/pots with vented fat legs are from the panama and costa rica

 

But.... those legs and the resist style paint do look like Costa Rica. Whether old or not is another question.

 

could u be more specific than ' in the ceiling'...?

 

As others have said, more pictures especially the bottom and size?
Patd

 

My first thought was certainly Costa Rica, with those feet. But how old?

 

I'll chime in with "my first reaction was .... hmmmm... that's a possibility". So I agree with all the above opinions: "Too soon to call" but the resist method and firing are good signs, as is overall design. IMO. Might have something there.

Of course the devil's advocate in me says... fakers know more than I do and so they can be really good at making you 'think' its real... so, too soon to call.

Along with pictures: feel the inside with your finger, and rub it. Does it feel very rough and unfinished, or smooth, like somebody took their time?

 

Second reaction: the 'incised lines' in the OP's pot are made with a three pointed tool... looks almost like a steel tool might have made that ... the lines are SOOOO even or parallel. and a bit 'hasty':


Look at stroke #2 vs #3 ... one is long other short, one touches bottom line, other doesn't... not exactly a 'slow' and patient design... and each set is so regular. Not that it can't be (the example above isn't patient or perfect either) ... but the tool has to last long enough on the unfired clay to make it through the process... and steel would... not sure a wooden 'brush' could.

Is that consistent with Pre Columbian? @alex webb 's example of the pot above is single line incisions, not triple lines, but 'so what'- just one data point. That's where an expert would know...



and, even the experts might not... a depressing article for all the antiquities enthusiasts out there... https://www.anonymousswisscollector...-the-mexican-museum-of-san-fran-are-fake.html

 

does look like a chisel. alot more effort to use the chisel like that. real ones took alot less effort to mark.

 

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/2/brigadolara.php

... read the article; then decide.

 

i get the impression there have been chisels in costa rica for a few hundred years. i do at times try to figure out the logic of a piece. was it valued by the person who did the crappy job of marking it up? would a faker not use a lighter hand to make it look more real. thats easier. was the person using it as a utilitarian item to mark the days for instance on something he had at hand maybe found by him and little valued. i guess its something you have tested scientifically if you really want to know how old it is.

 

Sorry @alex webb. My comment wasn't directed at questioning chisels. That was just intended at the general appearance and difficulty in detecting fakes and for information generally. I did not have an 'answer specific' intent, so sorry for the ambiguous wording. (I didn't even know yours had posted when I hit send)

Agree with all your 'logic' approach.

[Note to self: don't be lazy and respond precisely, and don't take short cuts like elipses, since they are prone to create issues.]

 

Costa Rican does not automatically imply pre-Columbian. This one isn't pre-C imo. And I am sure it wasn't intended as a fake or replica, apart from the general shape it doesn't resemble pre-Columbian Costa Rican I know.
Potters in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica have made pottery in the traditional way, without meaning to fake. It is their culture and their tradition, they have a right to continue and evolve it.

To me the only question is, when was this made. It could have some age, 19th-early 20th century maybe?

 

i put some interesting stuff in a wall i closed off....but not pottery...

 

Hi Komokwa,
I had a huge statue of St Joseph (3 ft) that I had bought when I decided to sell my one house. I told him he would always have room in my house. The next day my house sold for a lot more than I was asking. I thought how do I keep St Joseph in the house? The couple that bought my house were Jewish. I took down a kitchen cabinet and broke through the plaster and embedded St Joseph into the wall and rehung the cabinet. I have always wondered if he was still in the wall.
greg

 

You're decidedly weird Gregsy !!!! & I luv ya for it !!!!!!!

 

Hi Komokwa,
I should explain. Since I lived in Brooklyn and got very Italian I was always told if you want to sell your house quickly you buy a St Joseph statue. If you are serious and ask him to find new owners you have to do several things. One, buy a statue and bury it is the backyard and pray for a quick house sale. Two, buy the statue and place it in your home in a hidden spot until the house is sold. This was supposed be the way of a quick sale. I do not know if it common in other areas but the Italians in Brooklyn firmly believe it. So I tried it and it worked for me. You are supposed to leave the statue for the new owners. Since they were Jewish, leaving a Catholic relic might really offend them. That is why I stashed him into the wall.
greg