Rattle bowl

Rattle bowl, ceramic, height 14 cms., width 25 cms., Aztec-Mixtec, ca. 1350-1521 CE, Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, Leiden, Netherlands.

The three feet have clay beads inside which produce a rain-like noise when the bowl is moved. The staircase-wave motif, which is printed over the entire surface, suggests ritual use, as does its function as a rattle. The significance of the staircase-wave motif, which is frequently used in ancient America, is not known. It is also used on... feather shields. It may depict mountains as water dispensers or irrigation farming, to name just two possibilities.

From Aztecs, eds. Doris Kurella, Martin Berger and Inés de Castro, with INAH, Mexico - catalogue for the exhibition Azteken, Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Hirmer Publishers, Germany, 2019, p. 317.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.