Lot 203B
Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, Phase IV, ca. 450 to 700 CE. A hand-built pottery stirrup vessel depicting the primary god of the Moche people, Ai Apec (also Ai Apaec), in an uncommon crab form. Atop the beige-hued body Ai Apec rises with bared fangs, bulging eyes, a beaded necklace, and a crescent headdress fronted with an abstract zoomorphic head, and his white-spotted, crustacean-form arms drape down in front. Ai Apec is shown holding a lengthy strand in both claws that leads down to a red stingray bearing an incised visage. While the verso shows the crab body bearing 8 legs, there is also a pair of human legs protruding from the bottom. The human legs suggest Ai Apec could be in a transformative state or perhaps simply wearing a zoomorphic costume. Size: 7.5" L x 5.8" W x 8.7" H (19 cm x 14.7 cm x 22.1 cm)
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art's book about the Nathan Cummings Collection, the author writes about a popular scene in Moche iconography in which "an Ai-Apec crab is shown catching a fierce fish demon on a hooked line, while it slashes at him with a chopperlike knife. The crab deity appears to be defending the sea against a force that would drive away the food on which the Mochica depended." ("Ancient Peruvian Ceramics: The Nathan Cummings Collection" by Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY) Alan Reed Sawyer,1966, p. 57)
Cf. The Art Institute Chicago, reference number 1955.2292
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full printed and bound report will accompany the item upon purchase.
Provenance: ex private Superior, Colorado, USA collection, acquired in Paris before 2000
#130037
- Condition: Repair to midsection of handle, as indicated by a hairline fissure. Abrasions and nicks to body, handle, head, and spout, with fading to pigment in scattered areas, otherwise in great condition. Nice preservation to crustacean form. TL drill holes beneath base and under handle.
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