Sherd

Accession Number1986.008.0745a

VesselNuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)

DescriptionA portion of a globular, hand-molded, earthenware jar comes from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. A tall neck rises from the rounded body, and it bears a face in the form of eyes, ears, nose, and a mouth set in relief. The exterior of the vessel has a reddish color and is well-smoothed, while the interior is grayer and not as nicely finished. The walls are 1.5 to 2.0 centimeters thick. Many other pieces of this vessel were also recovered, but the low-fired, gritty paste has made cross-mending the fragments difficult. They do show, though, that the intact jar was 64 centimeters tall and 52 centimeters in diameter. The style of the vessel is Native American, not Spanish, and though its specific origins are not known, it has many similarities to effigy jars of both the Chancay and Chimu cultures of coastal Peru. Both groups were subsumed by the Inca empire in the late 15th century, meaning it is possible this jar was well over 100 years old when Atocha sailed.