Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca, ca. 125 to 250 CE. A variation on a Nazca head jar, the lower portion painted to depict a human face with stylized black hair, oval eyes containing round pupils (these open eyes indicating the the artist was depicting a living being rather than a trophy head), lunar shaped orange face painting just beneath the eyes and across the cheeks, a mouth with radiating black lines representing facial hair rather than pinned lips, and most intriguingly two red bird or alligator-like motifs painted on the lower cheeks. This lower section is modeled to create a projecting profile, while the upper portion represents a tall, subtly tapered cylindrical headdress painted with a "Greek key" or meander motif, all in red, orange, and grey hues over a cream ground. Head jars were important in burial ceremonies as the Nazca believed that the head was the chief repository of the human life force or spirit. Size: 4" in diameter at lower end x 6.25" H (10.2 cm x 15.9 cm)

Provenance: Ex-California Museum of Ancient Art

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#115294

One chip to rim. Minor surface wear and scratching. Else intact and excellent.