Pre-Columbian, Peru (North Coast), Moche Culture, ca. 100 to 700 CE. A blackware figural vessel, carved fully around the body, showing a seated human figure with a large helmet topped by a conical spout. He holds something between his hands that is small, ovoid, and cross-hatched. Ceramics were some of the most important artistic works for the Moche, and the depiction of aristocratic figures like this one reinforced their power in the society - which was indeed very powerful, with their Pyramid of the Sun the largest adobe structure in all of ancient Peru. This vessel is almost certainly modeled from a real person; the marks on his face are probably scarification or tattoos and the maker and whomever it was made for would have recognized this person and acknowledged their power. Size: 4" W x 8.75" H (10.2 cm x 22.2 cm)

Provenance: Ex- Peter Arnovick collection, San Francisco, CA

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