When an elite class of people emerges, luxury objects often come into demand. The nobility and wealthy individuals of Ancient Costa Rica obviously enjoyed unique objects for use in households or as funerary accouterments. Fortunately talented indigenous artists and those from neighboring regions who possessed the skills necessary to produce exceptional works of art such as this very fascinating dish met this demand. The two male figures are carrying what is most likely a boat. The sea played an important part in the lives of people who lived on the coastal region of Guanacaste Nicoya. This vessel may have been a fishing boat. However, the fact the figures are highly decorated with body paint or scarification, and the boat itself is very ornate, suggests this configuration may represent a ritual procession where the corpse was laid in a vessel. What is especially delightful is the way the artist has given graphic expression to the figures by making them appear in the act of great exertion, with their legs strained and their cheeks puckered as if exhaling. The identical faces inside the dish may depict mythological deities connected with the underworld. There is no doubt this fantastic vessel was a treasured article, used perhaps as a serving dish for fruits and vegetables, which still possesses its lively character undiminished by time.