Tinaja

Accession Number1986.008.2283

VesselNuestra Señora de Atocha (1622)

Datecirca 1622

DescriptionA large, heavily built earthenware jar of a type called a “tinaja.” The paste is like that used in the olive jars but with more gritty inclusions. Angled wavy lines run from the neck to the mid-section and connect to a similar decoration that encircles the piece. This ornamentation resembles flowing water and suggests the jar might have been used as a water dispenser on board Atocha, though in Spain tinajas were also used for the storage of wine and other liquids, as well as grains. The earliest tinajas date to the Bronze Age. In the colonial era, the manufacture of tinajas is associated with southern Spain. Height: 71.3 cm. Width: 66.3 cm.