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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
165257
label
Container in the form of a Sacrificer
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
165257
contentType
object
title
Container in the form of a Sacrificer
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
Q60763709
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
Peru, Middle Horizon, Wari Culture
accession
2007.193.a
Source extras
tec
wood and red pigment (cinnabar)
tombstone
Container in the form of a Sacrificer, 770–890 (radiocarbon date, 95% probability). Peru, Middle Horizon, Wari Culture. Wood and red pigment (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.a
collection
AA - Andes
didYouKnow
Traces of cinnabar, a toxic mercuric sulfide, are visible on the container's surface.
citations
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 08:33:53.459000
sourceId
165257
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
wood and red pigment (cinnabar)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
716c00634c5bd45f