Pre-Columbian, Northern Peru, Inca, ca. 1438 to 1533 CE. An aryballos-shaped pottery vessel known as an urpu, hand-built and painted with dark pigments. The bell-shaped body rises from a conical base, and two strap handles protrude from the lower body. The neck supports a flared rim with two downward pointing rings. The surfaces are painted with geometric and linear motifs of black patterns on the red-orange slip. The patterns extend from the neck to the carinated edge just above the base. The protruding lug on the shoulder was used for securing a strap through the handles, and the rungs below the rim could secure a stop over the mouth. The most ornate vessels, such as this finely painted urpu, were often used as votive pieces for rituals and storing chicha. Size: 8.5" L x 5.57" W (21.6 cm x 14.1 cm); 9.25" H (23.5 cm) on included custom stand.
Urpus were used for transporting and storing liquids such as chicha (fermented corn beer) and the conical base enabled the vessel to be pushed into sand or soft earth to stand upright. When alpacas were overburdened, human porters carried the urpu vessels on their backs. The tabs below the rim secured a cloth or skin cover over the mouth to prevent spillage. The rounded lug would also secure a strap that ran through the handles and tied the vessel to the porter’s back.
Provenance: ex-private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection, acquired March 3, 2017; ex-Galleria Contici, Orange City, Florida, USA; ex-G. Landazuri collection, Bronx, New York, USA, acquired before 1970s
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.
#161219
Condition
Repaired from approximately five pieces. Repairs are well done and difficult to discern, with restoration and overpainting along break lines. Light mineral deposits across base. Nice preservation of geometric motifs.