In the art of the shaft tomb culture there is sculptural evidence that pieces similar to this may have been used by high-ranking individuals to rest their back and head while they were sitting. Based on their function, I consider it opportune to call them s rather than reclining chairs. Royalty of course would have had larger size; however, none is known. It is possible that they were made from perishable materials, such as wood, and that they have disappeared after being left on the surface.
The ones represented in ceramics in a small form surely come from burial niches. It seems that they were only produced in the regional Comala style, hence they show elements of a recipient, that is, the hollow construction and cylindrical opening. The front part of the s is always flattened and reclined; the most frequent configuration is in the form of a bird, with the head turned to one side and the body, wings and tail in front.
Our piece displays a type of bird that is a constant in these pieces: the head and the body are circular, the mid-sized conical beak has a crest and a type of gular pouch; the wings are quadrangular with a wider base and the tail trapezoidal. In the body there are remains of motifs painted in negative with fugitive pigments: there are sixteen heads in five horizontal lines. Their forms are very schematic, reduced to circles with two small circles inside of them as eyes and a horizontal line for a mouth. In my judgment they could be interpreted as decapitated heads. The set of heads is in turn delimited by a semi-circle. Under this there are almost unnoticeable strips with abstract motifs. These designs are painted in cherry red, which only covers the front of the body and the tail, given that the rest of the sculpture shows a brown engobe with a certain reddish hue.
We thus substantiate a quality of the Comala style: the appearance of monochrome in pieces that are effectively polychrome. The palette is reduced to reddish pigments, with the exception of some sections being presented in white and black. The rear part of the s is also interesting because the figurative elements continue. Contrary to the flattened front, the volumes are more rounded, with appearance of convex and concave forms, some with straight angles. A moldboard is projected on this side, perhaps inoperable, and sometimes not visible from the front. As it is at the height of the head, it would seem that the bird itself perches on top of it and the rest of the dorsal figure in such a way that the position of those who used the s is reflected.
In the simplest ones, as in the case of our piece, the lower surface is smooth, monochrome and without the application of pastillage, incisions or sgraffito. The slope of the rests on a pair of separate forms that reflect bent knees, with very schematic feet, with no indication of toes. Those two s are upheld in the most elaborate compositions, although it openly regards the lower limbs of a male figure or canine, modeled in detail, which, due to their angle, seem to great weight. This analysis has allowed us to identify the figure of the birds as a clear attribute of high social rank and power as relating to the functional character of the objects to which they gave form, in whose lower part submitted figures were indicated or presented. In addition, the ostentation of power by the s of these s could be linked to the idea of human sacrifice or war victory based on the painted forms similar to decapitated human heads.
In the art of the shaft tomb culture there is sculptural evidence that pieces similar to this may have been used by high-ranking individuals to rest their back and head while they were sitting. Based on their function, I consider it opportune to call them s rather than reclining chairs. Royalty of course would have had larger size; however, none is known. It is possible that they were made from perishable materials, such as wood, and that they have disappeared after being left on the surface.
