Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mythical Creature
2018 © Maxim Tabachnik
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Greater Nicoya Vessel with Mythical Creature

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This ceramic vessel from the Greater Nicoya culture (800–1350) depicts a snarling supernatural being with exaggerated fangs and hollow eyes. Possibly representing a deity or spirit, such creatures were associated with protection, transformation, or access to the spiritual world in Mesoamerican cosmology.