Eureka Reporter | 1903-07-31 | Page 4 | Vase 1,000 Years Old

VASE 1000 YEARS OLD Is a beautiful specimen of ancient mexican art among the strange and valuable ob ejects acts which have been recently in stalled tailed in the mexican hall of the american museum of natural history Is a wonderful terra atta jug or jar designed and decorated in imitation of a turkey this Is considered the most magnificent specimen of ancient american ceramics so far discovered besides the artistic turkey head ban han die dle the most extraordinary feature of the jar Is its ornamentation of so solid I 1 id mexican turkey jug gold leaf with which it was profusely decorated in former times many lay ers of which still remain on the jar it la Is considered to be a priceless ex ample illustrating the culture and workmanship of that mysterious civil which flourished a thousand years ago in merico mexico me rico the jar Is thought to have been a funeral or votive offering which was one of the essential mortuary rites of the people of that time its age cannot be ac cura curatelo tely stated but it probably reaches back for a thousand years or more it was found by carl lutholtz Lum holtz during one of his exploring expeditions it came to light while digging in a rate vate garden in the city of tepic which had evidently been in remote times the site of some temple or wealthy burial place two skeletons were unearthed around the neck of one were found twenty balls of solid gold also a large breastplate ornament of gold