Goblet with female figure

This clay woman is dressed in a weaved and probably painted skirt, body paint on her chest and arms with designs that also look as if they were weaved, with circular earspools, adornments on her wrists and a necklace with an elongated pendant as those found frequently in the Zenú goldwork. She is carrying a woven basket on her head. Her calm face and slight smile, together with a hieratic attitude, seem to communicate confidence and trust. The vast areas dedicated to extensive plantations and household vegetable gardens existing in the Caribbean plains, kept and reconditioned for centuries by the Zenú people, indicate a special interest in matters related to fertility, biologic balance and social reproduction. Under these circumstances, the large amount of representations of women made of clay that the Zenú people deposited near their deceased under burial mounds is obvious. The feminine symbolism among this society is probably related to ideas of fertility, regeneration of society and also with feelings of wisdom and respect. The feminine symbolism could also be related to the meaning these people gave to cotton weaves and baskets, holding the seeds and gold offerings deposited in the temples. JSS