Written by the Treasureguide for the exclusive use of he Treasure Beaches Report.
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| A Couple Mexico Ceramic Finds. |
Yesterday I mentioned the academic paper, Ceramic Figurines in Spanish West Florida by Judith Bense that discusses miniature Spanish Colonial figurines found on Florida land and wreck sites. Above are a couple miniature ceramic objects that I found. They are fairly crude and looked old.
The one on the right is marked MADE IN MEXICO (you can see that in the photo) and the little vase is marked on the bottom MEXICO. That narrows down the date some.
I looked into it and found that the constitution of Mexico was adopted in 1821, but the name Mexico was derived from an indigenous name and was used prior to Mexico's War of Independence and separation from New Spain. In any case, the use of the name to describe the current country would not have before the 1820s. Those marks suggest the items were made for export.
Obviously hand-made rather than mass manufactured and somewhat crude in appearance. could easily be taken as much older.
They were found on two different bottle hunts near the same location. They appear to be made of the same type of clay.
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| Additional Angle on the Same Two Clay Items. |
I didn't know what the one on the left is supposed to be. In the past I called it an acorn, but after a little research I feel pretty confident it is a gourd. Gourd ceramic figures go all the way back to pre-Spanish contact days. They have symbolic and mythological significance and are promiently featured in Mexico myth.
I it has a slot, which you can see in the photo immediately above, which is crudely finished. I thought it might be a bank for coins, but I also discovered that if you blow on it just right, it could also be a whistle.
If it is a bank, the gourd, a symbol of fertility and prosperity would make sense.
My research revealed the following picture and accompanying information.
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| Mexican Folk Art Bank. |
Bank in the form of a human head. Tonalá, Jalisco. Though originally
made for children, ceramic banks are greatly enjoyed by adults. The head
form was first used in Tonalá during the 17th century and later made into
banks. Banks like the one pictured here are now rare. Source: Mexian Folk Art by Nicole Millen (final_mexican_teaching_kit.qxp).
I found multiple pictures of ceramic gourds as well.
I won't take time to post all the research I found, but my current conclusion is that my find is a ceramic bank of relatively modern origin.
Ceramic banks like these must be broken to retrieve the coins, which is a nice feature. They aren't very big though. I wonder if they might not have an additional use or significance, such as being a small seed with the hope increased prosperity.
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At some point I got the following information from Bing.
Ceramic pots marked "made in Mexico" can have a age of over 3,000 years, as pottery making has a long-standing tradition in Mexico1. The development of ceramic arts dates back to the first advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica, indicating that these pots may be thousands of years old.
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I've found quite a variety of ceramic items, mostly from water sites. Below are some of my finds.
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| Group of Ceramic Finds. |
Most of these are dolls, doll parts, along with a novelty figure. The figure of a little boy at the top right was made so that water could be put in the top and would squirt out a little hole where you might expect that.
The painted doll leg (left side of row three) is from an older German articulated doll. I've found a number of similar legs as well as arms. They sell quickly for a nice price. I sold several of those in the past. Antique and other dolls and parts can be worth more than some coins.
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I hope you read the great paper I talked about yesterday. It is really worth it. You'll find Spanish florida history, maps and more.
Here is the link again.
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| Source: Surfguru.com. |
After a few days of west and southerly wind, it looks like we'll be getting some higher surf.
We are also getting some negative low tides, which along with small surf makes for good shallow water hunting,
Good hunting,
Treasureguide@comcast.net