**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, Phase IV, ca. 450 to 650 CE. A hand-built and impressively well-preserved stirrup vessel presenting a dignified male figure seated with legs crossed beneath a russet skirt bearing white spots. Highly burnished and shown in hues of red, yellow-white, and chocolate brown, the male figure holds a petite cylindrical implement in his lap, perhaps an olla or a drum, as he dons a broad tunic with painted ornamentation. His hemispherical cap is secured via tied straps painted beneath his chin, and his protruding face and sharp nose are framed with a pair of enormous earspools. A semicircular spout and cylindrical handle project from behind the figure's back. Size: 5.75" W x 9.375" H (14.6 cm x 23.8 cm)

This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.

Provenance: ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

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#165504

Minor nicks, abrasions, and spalls to base, body, head, and spout, with fading to scattered areas of pigment, otherwise intact and excellent. Great preservation of figural form and original pigment. TL drill holes beneath base and along back just inside of proper right shoulder blade.