Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Chancay, ca. 800 to 1200 CE. A splendid and sizable figural vessel enveloped in a creamy beige slip with black-painted and applied details on a classically egg-shaped body with a cylindrical head. A pair of slender arms with delineated fingers protrude from the front side as they bear a conical vessel. The forward-facing head presents a stylized visage with characteristic Chancay features of petite, closed lips, a pointed nose, and bulging, ovoid eyes, all flanked by a sizeable pair of annular earspools. His head is capped by a flat headdress, embellished with vertical strips of applied clay, while the top opens to the hollow interior of the vessel. A necklace holding a slender wind instrument is shown on the figure's verso. The wide-eyed expression and headdress suggest that this is a shaman during a religious trance. Size: 11.8" Diameter x 19" H (30 cm x 48.3 cm)

The Chancay people were exceptional ceramic and textile artisans, and archaeologists have often found cuchimilcos in the tombs of Chancay nobility. Some scholars believe that their outstretched hands were intended to absorb negative energy. Chancay artisans created ceramics that are quite distinctive in form and decoration - finely painted and molded with specific decorative details carefully added by hand as we see in this example.

Provenance: ex-private Dunn collection, Ferndale, Michigan, USA, acquired prior to 2004

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#182050

Professionally repaired and restored with some repainting over break lines; all done very well and difficult to discern. Light surface wear as shown. Otherwise, very nice presentation with nice remaining pigments.