Description:

Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca culture, ca. 200 to 400 CE. A handbuilt polychrome vessel, a kero or drinking cup, that rests on a rounded bottom with a cream ground and encircling red and black rings near the bottom. The tall walls have several wider bands of black and cream pigment. Within two registers are many stylized trophy heads in profile with rectangular headdresses. The heads are painted in shades of red, chocolate brown, black, and tan. In Nazca culture - and other ancient Peruvian cultures - the decapitation and ritual use of human heads was common practice; many mythical figures and kings known from Nazca pottery are shown holding trophy heads or in the presence of trophy heads. A fascinating if not macabre motif that perhaps kept count of the kero owner's victories. Size: 4.3" W x 6.25" H (10.9 cm x 15.9 cm)

Provenance: ex- Orlando, Florida, USA collection; ex-Art for Eternity, New York, New York, USA; ex- Sydney Berman collection, New York City, New York, USA before 2000

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#159306

  • Condition: Old inventory label on the base. Chip to rim interior. Surface wear and abrasions commensurate with age. Intact and brightly painted!

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October 22, 2020 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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