Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
A supernatural creature known today as the Oculate Being, after its huge eyes, became prominent late in Paracas times. The Paracas left no written records and this creature's meaning is poorly apprehended, but it clutches a severed human head by the hair. A hint of the head's significance comes from the Oculate Being itself, whose head sprouts streamers that may represent abstract energy or force. The severed head cult, then, may have aimed at capturing and redirecting this energy. (Other Paracas objects appear nearby.)
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160711
label
Vessel with Oculate Being
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160711
contentType
object
title
Vessel with Oculate Being
description
A supernatural creature known today as the Oculate Being, after its huge eyes, became prominent late in Paracas times. The Paracas left no written records and this creature's meaning is poorly apprehended, but it clutches a severed human head by the hair. A hint of the head's significance comes from the Oculate Being itself, whose head sprouts streamers that may represent abstract energy or force. The severed head cult, then, may have aimed at capturing and redirecting this energy. (Other Paracas objects appear nearby.)
date
300 BCE–1 CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757446
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 40.8 cm (16 1/16 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, Paracas (Cavernas) style (700 BCE–1 CE)
accession
1998.7
Source extras
tec
earthenware with resin-based paint
tombstone
Vessel with Oculate Being, 300 BCE–1 CE. Peru, South Coast, Paracas (Cavernas) style (700 BCE–1 CE). Earthenware with resin-based paint; overall: 40.8 cm (16 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund, 1998.70
collection
AA - Andes
citations
citation
Bergh, Susan E., "Ancient Eyes", Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 44 no. 06, Summer 2004
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: p. 8-9
creditline
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:20:58.860000
sourceId
160711
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
earthenware with resin-based paint
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
6eaa1c075750dfb8