Pre-Columbian, southern Peru, Inca hinterlands (Chucu), ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A fascinating, palimpsest-like ceramic slab, trapezoidal in form, painted with a repeated motif of a white four-legged animal with a long tail and pointed ears - perhaps a fox - against a background of dots of varying sizes, also in the same white pigment. The fox was a common figure in Peruvian iconography, associated with plant fertility and seen as the bearer of grains and plants. Size: 6" W x 6.5" H (15.2 cm x 16.5 cm)
These plaques were made by smashing large vessels and painting the fragments. They have been discovered in a number of different contexts: beneath wall foundations, in graves, with animal sacrifices, and cached in prominent places in the landscape, like in springs, rock hollows, and atop hills. They are often discovered in pairs, with the painted surfaces placed so that they are facing each other, sometimes wrapped in leaves or even gold sheet. Although the tablet tradition began centuries before, the time period that this one comes from represents the height of the tablet tradition, and corresponds to an intensification of agriculture, the rise of interregional trade networks, and the ascendancy of certain important confederations of clans. Amidst this potent mix, the Inca expanded into the region and the tablet tradition abruptly ended. It seems likely that the Inca, who colonized regions in part by sponsoring local ritual activities, outlawed the creation of religious tablets like this because they saw them as a threat to their trade in sacrificial alpacas, corn beer, and cloth.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hillberg collection, California, USA
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#133803
Condition
Light wear to pigment, with beautiful preservation of motifs. Plastic mount on back.