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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Christine Steingass, post: 13100433, member: 114460&quot;]I dug into this one quite a bit because the rattle inside caught my attention.</p><p><br /></p><p>I would not call this piece authentically pre-Columbian from photos alone, especially considering where it was found, but the form itself does have legitimate ancient Costa Rican parallels.</p><p><br /></p><p>Harvard&#039;s Peabody Museum documents Greater Nicoya polychrome effigy vessels with hollow rattle chambers and loose pellets, including examples dated roughly 800–1550 CE. One Pataky Polychrome effigy vessel from Nicoya has three hollow rattle supports with slit openings, and another Nicoya vessel has molded animal-effigy rattle elements.</p><p><br /></p><p>Harvard Peabody:</p><p><a href="https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/355438/pataky-polychrome-effigy-tripod-vessel" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/355438/pataky-polychrome-effigy-tripod-vessel" rel="nofollow">https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/355438/pataky-polychrome-effigy-tripod-vessel</a></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/256288" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/256288" rel="nofollow">https://collections.peabody.harvard.edu/objects/details/256288</a></p><p><br /></p><p>The British Museum also has a Nicoya Polychrome animal-effigy vessel from Guanacaste, Costa Rica, dated 1000–1550 CE, painted red and black over a light-colored slip:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am1965-04-2" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am1965-04-2" rel="nofollow">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am1965-04-2</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Most interestingly, Arte Primitivo/Artemis recently catalogued both a Nicoya Polychrome Turtle Effigy Jar dated about 800–1350 CE and a separate Costa Rican terracotta turtle-effigy rattle containing loose clay pellets:</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://auctions.artemisgallery.com/auction-lot/nicoya-polychrome-turtle-effigy-jar-zoomorphic-ba_9650801130" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://auctions.artemisgallery.com/auction-lot/nicoya-polychrome-turtle-effigy-jar-zoomorphic-ba_9650801130" rel="nofollow">https://auctions.artemisgallery.com/auction-lot/nicoya-polychrome-turtle-effigy-jar-zoomorphic-ba_9650801130</a></p><p><br /></p><p>So the turtle/zoomorphic shape, red-black-cream decoration and actual rattle construction are all features with genuine Costa Rican/Greater Nicoya precedents.</p><p><br /></p><p>What I can&#039;t determine from the photographs is whether this particular piece is ancient or a later reproduction made in that tradition. Surface wear, cracking and deposits alone aren&#039;t enough to establish age. Given that it was found among reproduction pieces, I&#039;d be cautious, but I definitely wouldn&#039;t dismiss it simply because it rattles. That feature is historically legitimate and makes it worth a closer look by someone experienced with Greater Nicoya ceramics.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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