仪式金属 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	仪式金属
品名（英）	Ceremonial Metate
入馆年号	1978年，1978.412.94
策展部门	迈克尔·洛克菲勒之翼（The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing）
创作者
创作年份	公元 900 - 公元 1100
创作地区	哥斯达黎加（Costa Rica）
分类	石头工具（Stone-Implements）
尺寸	高 9 × 宽 13 1/4 × 深 13 3/8 英寸 (22.9 × 33.7 × 34 厘米)
介绍（中）	用火山石雕刻的装饰金属起源于前柱状美洲用于研磨食物（主要是玉米）的实用形式。中美洲的例子，比如这个metate，被广泛地修饰了，以至于人们推测会使用祭祀桌。一些当局认为他们与统治权有联系，可能起到了王位的作用。圆形底座上的六个人类猫科动物或猴子雕像支撑着桌子状的盘子。他们的牙齿狰狞地露出，拳头紧握。面对外界，他们积极地保护身体所包围的空间。每个人的尾巴都支撑着邻居的肘部，从一个身体到另一个身体产生了流畅的运动，并编织了一道防御屏障。他们中的两个打破了模式，用拳头对着嘴，而不是向上伸。人物的表现力和视觉复杂性使作品具有艺术意义。
介绍（英）	Decorated metates carved of volcanic stone originated in the utilitarian forms that were used for grinding foodstuffs, primarily corn, in Precolumbian America. Central American examples, such as this metate, were so extensively embellished that ritual offering table use is presumed. Some authorities believe they had connections to rulership and may have functioned as thrones. Six human-feline or monkey figures on a circular base here support the tablelike plate. Their teeth are ferociously bared and fists clenched. Facing outward, they aggressively protect the space circumscribed by their bodies. Each figure's tail buttresses the elbow of its neighbor, creating a fluid movement from one body to the next and weaving a barrier of defense. Two of them break from the pattern and have a fist to the mouth rather than extending upward. The expressiveness of the figures and visual complexity serve to give the work its artistic import.