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Source Description
This spouted vessel was probably used to serve the corn beer known as chicha or other beverages in ritual gatherings. The earliest ceramic containers were originally modeled on bottle gourds, and the curves of this example, dating to the 2nd millennium BCE, are similar to vegetal forms. The bottle’s design is molded and incised. It shows symbols of the Staff God, the most commonly shown deity in ancient Peru. His characteristic staff, curled at the top, is molded in the bottom part of the vessel, and the curving horizontal lines near it may reference his necklace. This god is often associated with trophy heads, and around the “waist” of the bottle are five disembodied heads shown in profile.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
79370
label
Spouted Vessel with Carved Designs
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
79370
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Spouted Vessel with Carved Designs
description
This spouted vessel was probably used to serve the corn beer known as chicha or other beverages in ritual gatherings. The earliest ceramic containers were originally modeled on bottle gourds, and the curves of this example, dating to the 2nd millennium BCE, are similar to vegetal forms. The bottle’s design is molded and incised. It shows symbols of the Staff God, the most commonly shown deity in ancient Peru. His characteristic staff, curled at the top, is molded in the bottom part of the vessel, and the curving horizontal lines near it may reference his necklace. This god is often associated with trophy heads, and around the “waist” of the bottle are five disembodied heads shown in profile.
provenance
Mr. Alexis Forrester, London, before the late 1970s [mode of acquisition unknown]; Economos Works of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, 1989, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.
date
1200-500 BCE (Early Horizon-Early Intermediate)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
vessels
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
29.2
height
10.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 11 1/2 x W: 4 1/8 in. (29.21 x 10.48 cm)
Source extras
cul
Cupisnique
style
Tembladera
med
earthenware
creator_ids
8559
collection_ids
AME
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
7013a784fbaff2ac
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
5a85e0394ad9a395
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no