Pre-Columbian, Southern Peru, Nasca, 400 to 700 CE. This is a steep-walled pottery bowl painted in the characteristic bright and bold style of Nazca (Nasca) ceramics. The interior is a deep purple red, while the exterior is a ring of humanoid heads with hair hanging down and eyes closed on a white background; the heads vary between red and purple in the face. The Nazca style of painting disembodied heads is known as "rayed faces"; in this case, they seem to clearly be trophies. Human trophy heads were one of the most common and important motifs in Nazca ceramics; the decapitation of enemies and using of their heads symbolically and in ceremonies was a cultural phenomenon that persisted in Andean culture before and after the Nazca. Size: 6" W x 4" H (15.2 cm x 10.2 cm).

Provenance: The Alvin M. Cohen Collection, Bethesda MD.

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#111257

Repaired