Lot 126
Pre-Columbian, northern Peru, Moche, Phase IV, ca. 500 to 700 CE. A fabulous pottery stirrup vessel in the form of a figure dressed in a peanut shell displaying the pointed root of the shell atop his head and the risen veins of the coat running vertically down his body. Seated with knees propped up, the figure holds one hand to his face and the other on his knee in a gesture of contemplation. His wide eyes confront the viewer, sitting above a flattened nose with broad nostrils and a thin, straight mouth. The tubular stirrup spout rises from the verso of the head and ends at the middle of the hunched back, doubling as a handle for the vessel. Size: 7.8" W x 9.8" H (19.8 cm x 24.9 cm)
Peanuts were a popular theme in Moche art as they served as a staple of the ancient Andean diet, being frequently roasted, fried, salted, boiled, ground, mashed, used as additives in sauces, and fermented into chicha de mani - a fermented peanut beverage. They also were important ceremoniously and were featured in performative feasts carried out on ceremonial platforms and patios for a community-wide audience, as well as frequently buried in the tombs of elites and pictured on funerary art.
Cf. Emory University Michael C. Carlos Museum, 1988.012.003. For more peanut figure vessels, also see Metropolitan Museum of Art, 64.228.37, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 54522.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection, 1995 to 2010; ex-Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, 1950s to 1960s
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Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
#173723
- Condition: Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting. Minor nick to rim of spout. Otherwise, excellent with great remaining pigments and details.
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