Seated Female Effigy Vessel

The brilliant red slip covering this figure is ornamented with black areas of paint that represents body painting, tattooing, clothing, or jewelry. The crown on this woman is decorated with geometric black shapes. This shows her importance to the Costa Ricans, suggesting she represents a fertility goddess. The star-shaped patterning on her breasts shows the sensuality and importance of this woman’s figure. Geometrical shapes appear all over her skin, which might suggest a symbol for order within the universe. The hands are delicately pressed to the abdomen, perhaps in the early stages of pregnancy. A sense of dignity and sculptural monumentality is apparent in the posture, which may have been ceremonial, or a pose of fertility. This figure is sensuous and elegant in her pose, her movement, and her shape. There is a liveliness and grace to this figure that continues to captivate us as an audience. Such magnificent figures, meant to be buried in tombs, carry the optimistic promise of a renewed life.