The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Basin with Feathered Serpent

Basin with Feathered Serpent

400–550 CE
earthenware, stucco, pigment
Diameter: 16.2 x 34.5 x 34.5 cm (6 3/8 x 13 9/16 x 13 9/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1965.20
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

The serpent covered with the green feathers of the tropical quetzal bird is an image of verdant, bountiful nature and life. It also may be a symbol of rulership, thus linking rulers to cosmic forces and the natural order. Four human hearts lie beneath the serpent on this unusually large basin, suggesting that sacrifice stimulates nature’s fruitfulness.
  • Schaafsma, Polly. "Quetzalcoatl and the Horned and Feathered Serpent of the Southwest." In The Road to Aztlan: Art from a Mythic Homeland. Virginia M. Fields, and Victor Zamudio-Taylor, eds., 138-149. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2001. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 138-142
    Conides, Cynthia. Made to Order: Painted Ceramics of Ancient Teotihuacan. Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2018. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 142, fig. 6.12
  • Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; May 13 - August 26, 2001. Austin, TX: Austin Museum of Art; October 19- December 30, 2001. Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque Museum; February 10-April 28, 2002. "The Road to Aztlan: Art form A Mythic Homeland." No cat. no., p. 139-141, repr. in color fig. 129, p. 141.
    Chicago, IL: The Art institute of Chicago; October 10, 1992 - January 3, 1993. "The Ancient Americas: Art From Sacred Landscape." Cat. no. 251, listed p. 381, repr. in color fig. 15, p. 145.
    Year in Review: 1965. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27-November 14, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=Basin with Feathered Serpent|url=false|author=|year=400–550 CE|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1965.20