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Poporo (lime container) with female figures

1–600 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360
In Andean South America, there is an indigenous tradition for the ritual use of coca leaves. In Precolumbian times the chief method of using coca was to place a quid of leaves into the mouth and add a small amount of powdered lime, made from calcined seashells. Standard coca-chewing paraphernalia included a small bag for the leaves and a container and a spatula or spoon for the lime. The utensils could be quite elaborate and made of precious materials. Lime containers from Colombia, known as "poporos," were often cast in gold in the form of nude human figures or as flasks incorporating raised nude images on each side. Both figures and flasks exhibit great elegance of conception, manufacture, and finish. The shouldered bottle here, adorned on either side with a female figure, still contains powdered lime.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Poporo (lime container) with female figures
  • Artist: Quimbaya artist(s)
  • Date: 1–600 CE
  • Geography: Colombia
  • Culture: Quimbaya
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 9 × W. 5 1/4 × D. 2 in. (22.9 × 13.3 × 5.1 cm)
  • Classification: Metal-Containers
  • Credit Line: Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, Gift of Jan Mitchell, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.419.22
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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Anthropomorphic Bead, Gold (cast), Early Quimbaya
Anthropomorphic Bead
Early Quimbaya
300 BCE–700 CE
Figure Pendant, Gold alloy, Central Caribbean or Greater Chiriquí
Figure Pendant
Central Caribbean or Greater Chiriquí
6th–16th century CE
Poporo (Lime container), Gold, Early Quimbaya
Poporo (Lime container)
Early Quimbaya
300 BCE–700 CE
Neck of Poporo (Lime Container), Gold alloy, Early Quimbaya
Neck of Poporo (Lime Container)
Early Quimbaya
300 BCE–700 CE
Standing figure, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Gold, Tolita-Tumaco
Standing figure
Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
500 BCE–300 CE

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