Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, Phase III, ca. 350 to 550 CE. A hand-built and highly burnished stirrup vessel depicting a fierce warrior embattled against a massive crab monster. Each side of the russet-hued vessel presents a jaguar-toothed warrior wearing a double-headed serpent belt, a jaguar-headed headdress, a broad pectoral collar, and thick wrist bangles while wielding a tumi in his right hand. The warrior's left hand extends outward to fend off the advances of a monstrous crab with huge claws and human-like back legs. The midsection of the vessel bears cream-hued step pyramid motifs interspersed with zigzagging lines, and the stirrup-shaped handle is surmounted by a cylindrical spout with a lightly flared lip. Size: 5.625" W x 8.4" H (14.3 cm x 21.3 cm)
Cf. a similar warrior figure in Donnan, Christopher B. and Donna McClelland. "Moche Fineline Painting: Its Evolution and Its Artists." UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, 1999, p. 52, fig 3.23c.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from the 1950s to the 1960s
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#159509
Condition
Restoration to top of spout and areas of base, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor abrasions and fading to original pigmentation, with softening to some finer details on body. Nice remains of figural details.