Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chimu, ca. 1100 to 1450 CE. A mold-made blackware stirrup vessel with a fierce jaguar perched upon a rectangular prism base - the stirrup joined to the back of the wild feline. The jaguar presents an expressive visage with incised almond-shaped eyes, a protruding nose, perky ears, and a wide open mouth full of sharp, jagged fangs. This iconography is greatly symbolic, as the jaguar was associated with power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world. Warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World. The principal deity of the Moche, whose ceramics inspired subsequent Peruvian cultures including the Chimu, wears a headdress adorned with a jaguar head and paws and important mortals donned similar headdresses. A nocturnal animal, the jaguar sleeps in caves and dark places and creeps quietly in the forest, evoking great mystery. Size: 5.75" L x 7.75" H (14.6 cm x 19.7 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Private Ventura County, CA collection

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#118420

Spout reattached to stirrup. Head repaired and reattached to neck. Subtle iridescence to areas of the surface.