Heart-Shaped Vessel

Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Pre-Contact America | Explorations and Encounters | Aftermath of the Encounter

Dominican Republic. Taíno, AD 1000–1500.
Ceramic.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (57)

Enlarge
Add to my collection
Send a postcard

This intact pottery container is a heart-shaped bottle covered with complex iconography, including female and male attributes. The two lobes represent female breasts and the neck, a phallus. Scholars believe these vessels were water containers used in rituals and ceremonies.