Chocolate Jar
Not on view
This jar was probably used to store cacao beans and once had a lockable iron lid (only the collar remains). Its blue-and-white decoration features stylized birds that recall the Chinese motif of a phoenix (fenghuang) transformed into a quetzal, an extravagantly plumed bird considered sacred by many Mesoamerican peoples. This detail could represent the misinterpretation of a Chinese phoenix or the intentional accommodation of a local meaning.
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