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Source Description
This container assumes the shape of a magnificent, feline-headed, supernatural sacrificer who draws a knife across the throat of the human it holds in its lap. Severed human heads hang from the feline's belt and dangle by the trachea at the back of its headdress. Sacrifice had a place in Wari religious practice, probably as an unusual and exceptionally precious offering made to entice the benevolence of cosmic forces. Indeed, colonial-period Andean people believed that death was a prerequisite for the renewal of the world.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
165256
label
Sacrificer Container
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
165256
contentType
object
title
Sacrificer Container
description
This container assumes the shape of a magnificent, feline-headed, supernatural sacrificer who draws a knife across the throat of the human it holds in its lap. Severed human heads hang from the feline's belt and dangle by the trachea at the back of its headdress. Sacrifice had a place in Wari religious practice, probably as an unusual and exceptionally precious offering made to entice the benevolence of cosmic forces. Indeed, colonial-period Andean people believed that death was a prerequisite for the renewal of the world.
date
770–890 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability)
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60746042
genreSpecific
Wood
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 10.8 x 7 x 7.5 cm (4 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 15/16 in.)
cul
Central Andes, Wari style (600-1000)
accession
2007.193
Source extras
tec
wood and cinnabar
tombstone
Sacrificer Container, 770–890 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability). Central Andes, Wari style (600-1000). Wood and cinnabar; overall: 10.8 x 7 x 7.5 cm (4 1/4 x 2 3/4 x 2 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 2007.193
collection
AA - Andes
didYouKnow
Traces of cinnabar, a toxic mercuric sulfide, are visible on the container's surface.
citations
citation
Bergh, Susan E., Luis Guillermo Lumbreras, and Luis Jaime Castillo. <em>Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes.</em> [New York]: Thames & Hudson; [Cleveland] : The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 243-244, p. 278, cat. 164; Reproduced: p. 242-243, fig. 233
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 333
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:34:04.886000
sourceId
165256
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
wood and cinnabar
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a90d9a0d60f11e19