This tripod vessel is an elegantly formed burial object. The small main body has a flared rim and a rounded bottom, which is supported by three hollow conical legs. These...
This tripod vessel is an elegantly formed burial object. The small main body has a flared rim and a rounded bottom, which is supported by three hollow conical legs. These legs have two small slits near the top, which contain rattles. The most striking elements in the formation of this vessel are the birds modeled at the point where the legs are joined to the body. The fantastical beak-bird gods are modeled with applied and incised decoration, they are shown carrying heads. The beak-bird god was believed to be associated with a fertility cult, through carrying the seeds of humans in his beak. This piece is consequently one, not only of aesthetic beauty, but evokes the mystic beliefs of the ancients.