Pedestal Bowl Depicting Bicephalic Footed Serpent with Headcrest Possibly 700 - 1100

Editor: This is a ceramic pedestal bowl, likely dating from 700 to 1100 AD, made by the Coclé people. It’s currently held at the Art Institute of Chicago, and the description says it depicts a bicephalic, or two-headed, footed serpent with a headcrest. The abstraction and patterns are fascinating! What strikes you most about it? Curator: It’s the visual vocabulary employed here – the serpent, naturally, is a potent symbol, representing life, death, and rebirth in many cultures. But here, doubled, and almost abstracted into geometric forms, it suggests a more complex narrative, doesn’t it? Perhaps about duality or the cyclical nature of existence. What do you think those colors and their arrangement might suggest? Editor: The warm reds and oranges contrast with the cooler purples. The geometric forms make me think it represents water, maybe referencing ritual or cosmological connections? Curator: Precisely! Consider the location where it was found and created: Panamá. In that ecological region, serpents embody earthly and spiritual realms. The contrasting colors may delineate opposing, yet complementary, forces at play. What feelings do those serpent heads evoke for you? Editor: It almost feels like the heads mirror each other in some way, maybe hinting at interconnectedness? Like, despite being separate entities, they're part of a larger whole, and each connected to earth and cosmos. Curator: Excellent. Think about what you can interpret from repeated forms; how do these resonate on cultural, psychological and aesthetic planes, evoking continuity? When we connect our understanding of the symbols employed with this continuity we learn something of the society that created them. What, if anything, does it mean to you? Editor: It all feels connected in a meaningful way... Thank you. Curator: An intriguing visual journey, indeed!