Rare Inca Chucu Terracotta Plaque - Human Figures

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Fine Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Mar 21, 2019

Set Reminder 2019-03-21 10:00:00 2019-03-21 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-ancient-asian-ethnographic-art-3967
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• Lot Description
  Pre-Columbian, southern Peru, Inca hinterlands (Chucu), ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A very rare, beautiful ceramic plaque from a fascinating and little known tradition. Pale beige and wine red pigment colors the buff surface of the plaque, creating the iconography, which features standing anthropomorphic figures and a four-legged animal with a long tail and pointed ears - perhaps a llama, alpaca, or even a fox. Dots of pigment surround the figures, seemingly placed at random, giving an impression of a starry sky. Size: 5.7" W x 5.25" H (14.5 cm x 13.3 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 artform, and corresponds to an intensification of agriculture, the rise of interregional trade networks, and the ascendancy of certain important confederations of clans. Into 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.
  
  #140991

  Condition

  Light fading to the pigment with wear commensurate with age on surface and edges. One side may be lost or may be deliberate - see explanation in description. Overall in very nice condition, with most motifs well-preserved. Comes with attached plastic holder to hang it on the wall.
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