Pre-Columbian, Northern coast Peru, Nazca, ca. 400 to 600 CE. A petite double-spouted vessel with an intricate and bizarre motif depicted across the body. The painted deity or monster has a massive head that has zoomorphic aspects; whiskers and a broad nose create a feline visage. The being wears a necklace, an elaborate headdress, and a long cape that is decorated with human heads, severed as trophies. The torso and legs of the figure are depicted horizontally below the cape. All is painted in vibrant hues of red, orange, yellow, blue, gray, and black, on a creamy white ground. The vessel has a rounded but stable base, and from the top are two narrow spouts with a strap handle bridged between them. This feline "Decapitator God" was a popular theme in Nazca art and likely represented a deity. The trophy heads were for remembering the enemies slain in battle. Size: 4.5" Diameter x 5.5" H (11.4 cm x 14 cm)
Provenance: ex Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to Ashland University between July 1994 to December 1998
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#165956
Condition
Chipping to rims of spouts. Chipping and abrasions to surface and pigments across body. Some fading of pigments, but motif is clear and preserved. Nice burnishing mark on base.