Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Nazca or Huari/Wari culture, ca. 200 to 800 CE. A wooden poporo, a container for lime used in the ingestion of coca leaves, with a crouching jaguar carved as if perched on its side. The bowl has a pronounced rim and a piriform body. The jaguar is fierce, with bared teeth, huge claws, and a delightful coiled tail that meets the body of the jar. Comes with custom stand. Size: 3" W x 3" H (7.6 cm x 7.6 cm)

From the earliest times, people in the Andes had a tradition of using coca leaves for ritual purposes. They were ingested by placing some of the leaves in the mouth and adding a small quantity of powdered lime, ground from seashells and kept in a poporo. The poporo was often elaborately conceived, with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic details.

The feline is the most pervasive animal in ancient Peruvian art, and it was associated symbolically with military, religious, and political leaders. The jaguar, which in life hunts by jumping at the head of its prey, may have been a symbol of decapitation - another recurring theme in the ancient Andes.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Westermann collection, Germany

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#123557

  • Condition: Dark patina on wood from touch/age. Wood surface has some light scratching.

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May 25, 2017 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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