Miniature Metate (700–1000): Art, History and Details

Miniature Metate (700–1000) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This miniature grinding stone, decorated on the underside, was made during an era of extensive interregional contacts and artistic influences. The bar and four dots below the serpent represent the number nine, executed in the style of Xochicalco, in Morelos. The rattlesnake above resembles contemporary carvings from Veracruz, to the east. Possibly "9 Rattlesnake" was the name of an individual, or a date in the poorly understood Xochicalco calendar.

Object facts

• Title: Miniature Metate
• Date: 700–1000
• Culture: Central Mexico, Xochicalco?, Classic Period
• Type: Stone
• Technique: stone
• Dimensions: Overall: 17.5 x 13 x 3 cm (6 7/8 x 5 1/8 x 1 3/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Mesoamerica
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1956.86

Collection credit

Gift of John Wise

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, (March 1958).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.