Fig. 228. Statuette of small size—1/1. Fig. 229. Statuette of largest size—½.
[ STOOLS.]

I have given this name to a class of stone carvings presented in a previous section, and, for want of a better name, give it also to a series of similar objects modeled in clay. These are among the most elaborate products of Chiriquian art. In all cases they are of the yellowish unpainted pottery and indicate much freedom and skill in the handling of clay. They do not show any well defined evidences of use, and as they are too slight and fragile to be used as ordinary seats we are left to surmise that they may have served some purpose in the religious rites of the ancient races. They are uniform in construction and general conformation and consist of a circular tablet supported by upright circular walls or by figures which rest upon a strong, ring shaped base. The tablet or plate is somewhat concave above, is less than an inch in thickness, and has a diameter of ten and one-fourth inches in the largest piece, descending to seven and one-half in the smallest. The margin is rounded and usually embellished with a beaded ornament consisting of grotesque heads, generally reptilian. The variations exhibited in details of modeling are well shown by the illustrations. In the example given in Fig. 230 the upright portion is a hollow cylinder, having four vertical slits, alternating with which are oblique bands of ornament in incised lines and punctures. The projecting margin of the tablet is encircled by a row of grotesque, monkey-like heads, facing downward.

Fig. 230. Stool of plain terra cotta, decorated with grotesque heads and incised figures—⅓.

Fig. 231 illustrates a specimen in which three grotesque figures, with forbidding faces, alternate with as many flat columns embellished with rude figures of alligators. Eighteen grotesque, monkey-like heads occupy the lower margin of the seat plate in the spaces between the heads of the supporting figures. This specimen illustrates the favorite Chiriquian method of construction. The various parts were modeled separately in a rough way and then set into place

in the order of their importance. When this was done and the insertions were neatly worked together with the fingers, a number of small instruments were employed in finishing: a sharp stylus for indicating parts of the costume, and blunt points and small tubular dies for adding intaglio details of anatomy, such as the navel, the pupils of the eyes, and the partings of the fingers and toes.