Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche III to IV, ca. 400 to 600 CE. A red pottery vessel depicting a jaguar with a highly-burnished coat. The wild feline looks deceptively playful (given the wild feline's potential for ferocious acts) and innocently rests upon its haunches. The face displays large ovoid eyes, a straight bar-shaped snout, puffy jowls, a downturned mouth full of teeth, and two prominent semi-circular ears. A large, pinched spout stems upwards from behind the head and on top of the hind quarters. Size: 8.65" W x 8.4" H (22 cm x 21.3 cm)
The jaguar symbolized power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world. Warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World. The principal Moche god wears a headdress adorned with a jaguar head and paws and important mortals donned similar headdresses. A nocturnal animal, the jaguar sleeps in caves and dark places and creeps quietly in the forest, evoking great mystery. Oddly enough, few Moche artists would have actually scene jaguars as they are not indigenous to the coast. Jaguars prefer moist forest conditions. However, scholars believe that some cubs were transported over the mountains for Moche rituals, and it is also possible that some jaguars wandered down the coast.
Provenance: ex-private Los Angeles, California, USA collection, acquired about 1974
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#142775
Condition
Repaired and restored from multiple pieces, with overpaint along the repair lines. This restoration is excellently done and almost impossible to see. Chips from rim and from one ear. Nicely preserved detail.