Pre-Columbian, Peru, Huari / Wari culture, ca. 500 to 1000 CE. A wonderful pottery kero presenting a conical form with a horizontal band of low relief stylized faces encircling the midsection of the exterior. Incised with ornate details, each alternating visage displays a rectangular form with almond-shaped eyes, an open mouth with gritted teeth, and a geometric motif headband. Keros were used for the consumption of chicha (corn beer) during ceremonies and everyday gatherings and played an important role in the maintenance of social and political relations. Size: 4.6" Diameter x 5.3" H (11.7 cm x 13.5 cm)

Human heads with distinctive facial decoration and caps were a popular motif in Huari artwork; this may relate to the use of human heads as trophy objects, or perhaps for the veneration of ancestors, a favored theme on Huari (and other Peruvian) ceramics. Some have suggested that the wearing of certain types of motifs or textile items in life (because the textiles the Huari are buried with were likely worn by the living before they were used in burial) showed rank in the complex imperial structure that the Huari created.

Provenance: private Lumberton, Texas, USA collection, acquired before 2010

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#183757

Professionally repaired with restoration and repainting over some break lines, but others visible. Chipping to rim and some nicks and abrasions to surface as shown. Otherwise, nice presentation and good preservation of incised detail.