Description:

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 300 to 400 CE. A mold-made bichrome cream-on-red vessel depicting Ai Apec, the chief deity of the Moche people. The god stares outward at the viewer with his characteristically wild feline fangs hanging over his lips and a pair of sinuous serpents slithering out from the coils of his ears. Bulging eyeballs and a strong nose with flared nostrils complete his face. Interestingly, the shape of his ears seems to mirror that of waves, giving him a further supernatural appearance, perhaps because Ai Apec is often associated with the uncontrollable power of the sea. His head is adorned with a helmet-like coiffure with a large conical mouth rising from it. This vessel was made to adorn a tomb, perhaps with an offering of chicha, corn beer, inside of it. Size: 6.25" W x 11.05" H (15.9 cm x 28.1 cm)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection

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#148476

  • Condition: Professionally repaired and restored from multiple pieces. This is expertly done and almost impossible to see. Nice deposits on surface.

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October 3, 2019 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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