eyeballed intact clay artifact. (opinions please)

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Interesting finds indeed, both sets of these bowls seam to be crudely made which leads me to believe they are fairly old. Even cheaply produce items these days are made to a higher standard just for the marketing aspect of the item. Jason, yours also have what appears to be some white patina or some sort of coral growth on it from being exposed to the sea, which would also indicate that it is an older piece. I am no expert on these but I think that these are oil lamps and were stacked on board for use while in port or during calm seas.
Does any one know of similar items being found on Spanish or Portuguese shipwreck sites?
Great finds for sure.
ZDD

 

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[GatorBoy]

This one was recovered at the bottom of the South China Sea on the wreck of the "Tek Sing" a Chinese vessel.
I also read that these were set in a holder that was hung to " dangle" so they would keep their level aboard ship.

 

[Trez]

Gator,
Local Haitian Voodoo?
More common than you would expect and we have quite a few Haitian in that area and they are also lots on the west coast in that Tampa area by Jason.
Seeker mentioned ceramonial bowls.
with the burned edges...lit at low tide and extinguished with the imcoming tide...someone wanted somebody to have some bad Mojo. I will ask my Haitian friends today if they can ID if this be the case.

 

[GatorBoy]

Yeah.. thanks... that's sure possible.

 

[ScubaFinder]

I stopped by the Middle Eastern Imports Trading Co. yesterday and the shop owner was there and very nice, but he said these didn't come from India or have anything to do with Hindu or Muslim ceremonies according to him. My first question to him was "do you have anything like this, it's an oil lamp I believe". He quickly replied, "no, this is very old, maybe Spanish or Native American". He never clarified what he based that on. He showed me modern ceremonial lamps and they were mostly ornate or at the least very symmetrical and identical (machine made or molded) and all had handles and well formed wick holders. According to him we can rule out middle or far east manufacture.

Interesting thought about the Haitian voodoo Trez, I spent a lot of time in Haiti and never saw one of these but I wasn't exactly looking for them either. Being hand-made would certainly fit the voodoo curse theory as I think things that went into those were supposed to be collected or created by the one putting the "curse" together. I know a French diver who also spent a lot of time in Haiti as well but he had never seen one either.

The white growth on mine is definitely calcium based marine growth, probably a white variant of Coraline Algae. Being beach finds I thoroughly rinsed and soaked them in fresh water. I have had pottery crack as the salts dried out and crystallized so now I rinse everything. I still find it odd that two people found two identical artifacts each on different coasts under almost identical circumstances. That could be coincidental, but what I can't figure is that with so many beach combers on both coasts, all with their eyes glued to the sand and tuned to spot Spanish terra cotta pottery...how have GatorBoy and I found two each but nobody else has ever seen one. It just doesn't add up for me.

 

[GatorBoy]

I'm with you on that last comment for sure.
Thank you for taking the time to follow up with this. I really hope we can get a positive ID.
I can personally rule out Native American at least locally based on the material.

 

[ScubaFinder]

Agreed, definitely not like anything native to this coast either. Now that I think about it, I have seen a sketch of the hanging oil lamps that were certainly similar, just a wire loop around the clay vessel with a hook on top. Maybe we should post all four in "What is it" along with the combined story and see what comes of that, there are some super knowledgable people there and a fresh look outside of shipwreck hunter's eyes might shed more light?

 

[GatorBoy]

Great idea.

 

[claire]

I found a very similar bowl on a beach up here on Long Island. It probably is from an Indian ( from India) ceremony.

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

Hey there guys, here is a pic of a friend of mine's clay dish. He was told by museum staff that it was a lid to an olive jar but none of us believed that theory. But I pulled up his pix just to check it and because I didn't remember a spout like feature but in his there is a cut away type piece that a wick could have been in.
It definitely isn't Voodoo stuff up here. Way to cold for the witch doctors here.
ZDD

 

[GatorBoy]

Thank you for posting that sure is an interesting piece that almost looks like stain from red ochre in it that's made from ground hematite is there any chance that maybe soapstone or something similar.. It reminds me of a Native American Paint Pot

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

This pot is made from from a course earthenware with a red type glaze applied to it. This was located in the ocean off Nova Scotia, Canada. It may possibly be Native in origin, I have no knowledge of the Indian clay artifacts in this location.
ZDD

 

[pvet7521]

clay bowels

Thank you

About 15 yrs ago i was walking the beach in NY and came across the same exact bowel. I thought I had a wreck somewhere off shore. the pottery itself didnt seem to have the crudness of an olive jar . I called Marty Meylach and sent him a picture , The man is and always was brilliant. What it was and what you have are Hindu ritual bowels.They are now everywhere along NY shorelines along with sacrificial chickens and fruit.. Here are some pictures I took today.

 

[GatorBoy]

Thank you.. Believe it or not I found a chicken head today not far from there