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Source Description
The kero is a distinctive Tiwanaku vessel form, imitated by the later Inka, who used the cups in political and religious ceremonies. It is assumed that the same was true at Tiwanaku, where impressive stone figures, perhaps rulers, hold keros as though they are emblems of authority. Perhaps, like the Inka, the Tiwanaku used keros to drink chicha, a corn beer shared to cement bonds of mutual obligation among allies.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
139699
label
Kero (Waisted Cup)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
139699
contentType
object
title
Kero (Waisted Cup)
description
The kero is a distinctive Tiwanaku vessel form, imitated by the later Inka, who used the cups in political and religious ceremonies. It is assumed that the same was true at Tiwanaku, where impressive stone figures, perhaps rulers, hold keros as though they are emblems of authority. Perhaps, like the Inka, the Tiwanaku used keros to drink chicha, a corn beer shared to cement bonds of mutual obligation among allies.
date
400–1000
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756757
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 22.3 x 17 cm (8 3/4 x 6 11/16 in.)
cul
Bolivia, Cochabamba(?), Tiwanaku style, 400-1000
accession
1963.476
Source extras
tec
earthenware with colored slips
tombstone
Kero (Waisted Cup), 400–1000. Bolivia, Cochabamba(?), Tiwanaku style, 400-1000. Earthenware with colored slips; overall: 22.3 x 17 cm (8 3/4 x 6 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1963.476
collection
AA - Andes
citations
citation
Ekholm, Gordon F. <em>Pre-Columbian Art, the Native Art of America before the Conquest: Jan. 10-Feb. 1, 1953</em>. Palm Beach, FL: Society of the Four Arts, 1952.
page_number
Mentioned: cat. no. 85
citation
Purin, Sergio. <em>Inca-Perú: 3000 Ans d’Histoire: Musées Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire, Bruxelles, 21.9-30.12, 1990</em>. Gent: Imschoot, 1990.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 150, pl. 184
citation
<em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Museum, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 18
citation
Richardson, James B. <em>People of the Andes</em>. 1st ed. Montreal; Washington, DC: St. Remy Press; Smithsonian Books, 1994.
page_number
p. 129
citation
Munsterberg, Hugo, and Marjorie Munsterberg. <em>World Ceramics: From Prehistoric to Modern Times</em>. New York: Penguin Studio Books, 1998.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 72, pl. 67
citation
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. <em>Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inca</em>. Denver, CO, Lincoln, NE: Denver Art Museum; University of Nebraska Press, 2004.
page_number
cat. no. 6.20, p. 169
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:09:02.882000
sourceId
139699
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
earthenware with colored slips
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
d5626337fd462ac3