The high status of aristocrats is seen by the wealth interred in their graves, including painted ceramics. This plate shows a composite being: a shark with the markings of a serpent, suggesting the swift power of the shark united with the ability of the snake, which can traverse both land and water. Viewers of this plate would have interpreted it as an affirmation that the universe held magic secrets but was an ordered and organized place.
Ceramic with paint
6 5/8 in. (16.83 cm)
Diam.: 10 in.
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
52.86
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
Now on view at the
Seattle Art Museum
Resources
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art, Nov. 10, 2018 - ongoing.
Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.