01 Photograph Gallery

02 Object Information

Description

Ceramic urn depicting a woman in the traditional birthing position, with flexed legs and hands placed on the chest, suggesting the act of pushing.

The figure displays a prominent belly, indicating advanced pregnancy. This squatting posture, practiced since Pre-Columbian times, eased childbirth through gravity and was assisted by a midwife.

Traditionally, a rope was tied to the main beam of the house and passed under the mother’s arms to support her during labor.

The opposite side of the wall (the back) presents designs that are difficult to distinguish and identify, so an iconographic study would be required using analysis equipment that allows the size of the drawings to be increased.

Commentary

Although the Registry of Cultural Property classifies it as originating from the Guatemalan Highlands and dating it to the Classic period (250-900 AD), the urn was found in a field in the department of Santa Rosa (southeastern Guatemala), highly fragmented. It corresponds to the Late Classic period.

Period

CLASSIC (150/200 A.D.-900 A.D.) Late Classic (650-900 AD).

Provenance

Peripheral Lowlands (Eastern Guatemala)

Medium / Material

Clay

Technique

Incised, Modeled, Slip

Dimensions

Height: 54 cm
Maximum mouth diameter: 38.5 cm

03 References and Exhibitions

References to similar objects

Exhibitions

“IN THE CURVATURE OF TIME: ART AND WOMEN,” organized by the G&T Continental Foundation at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Guatemala, in conjunction with other collections (September to December 2012)

“THE HUMAN FIGURE AND PRE-COLUMBIAN BODY DECORATION,” Spanish Cooperation Training Center, Antigua Guatemala (August 25, 2016 – February 26, 2017)

Publications