[unattributed]
South American
Rio magdalena Chimila figural burial urn with lid, ca.1000-1500 A.D.
Terracotta
10 x 8 x 8 inches
Unsigned.

This ancient Colombian pregnant female-effigy ceramic burial urn with lid was a vessel to hold the remains of a burned body and their burned gold jewelry, which was burned together to create a more “lasting” form.  The urn, a pregnant female image was used to help give a “rebirth” to the dead.  It is significant that in the Chibchan languages of this area the words for “seed” and for “bone” are the same. To place the seed of the dead in the image of the life-producing womb was to show how life grows anew time after time.