Central Caribbean. <em>Stele</em>, 700-1000. Volcanic stone, 78 9/16 x 23 1/4 x 11 in. (199.5 x 59 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 34.5098. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5098_front_PS4.jpg)

Central Caribbean. Stele, 700-1000. Volcanic stone, 78 9/16 x 23 1/4 x 11 in. (199.5 x 59 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 34.5098. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5098_front_PS4.jpg)

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How do the curators know that these are humans in masks and not animals?

Visually it is possible to infer that these are masked human figures, because of their body. You can see that the upright position of the figures suggest that these are humans in disguise. If you look closely, you can see human ears beneath the masks, and on the back of the sculpture you can see that the figures have human feet and backsides. The back of the slab is decorated with eighteen crouching jaguars. The jaguar may have been a totem animal or clan symbol of the deceased. You can compare the rendering of the jaguar bodies to those of the human figures in masks.

Stele

Arts of the Americas

On View: Arts of the Americas Galleries, 5th Floor

This stele is topped with three kneeling human figures wearing jaguar masks with pronounced incisors, and the back is decorated with eighteen crouching jaguars carved in high relief. The exact function of such monumental stone slabs is unknown because so few have been found or excavated in the region. One example was discovered upright in a cemetery, suggesting that it was a grave marker for an important individual. In this case, the jaguar may have been the deceased’s totem animal or clan symbol.

CULTURE Central Caribbean

MEDIUM Volcanic stone

Place Found: Las Mercedes, Costa Rica

DATES 700-1000

DIMENSIONS 78 9/16 x 23 1/4 x 11 in. (199.5 x 59 x 27.9 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 34.5098

CREDIT LINE Alfred W. Jenkins Fund

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Large stone stele decorated with three human figures wearing jaguar masks. The figures are carved in the round and joined by the arms of the central figure. The back of the piece is decorated with eighteen crouching jaguars in high relief that are carved along the sides of the stele. Condition: good.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Arts of the Americas Galleries, 5th Floor

CAPTION Central Caribbean. Stele, 700-1000. Volcanic stone, 78 9/16 x 23 1/4 x 11 in. (199.5 x 59 x 27.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 34.5098. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.5098_front_PS4.jpg)

IMAGE front, 34.5098_front_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

How do the curators know that these are humans in masks and not animals?