**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, north central Peru, Inca, ca. 1200 to 1523 CE. A hand-carved wooden ritual vessel known as a canopa in the form of a camelid. The vessel has a slightly rounded but stable base, a squat body with a central offering receptacle on the back, and a slender neck surmounted by a narrow head with perky ears and circular eyes. Canopas typically depict alpacas, llamas, or other camelids and are often buried in the animals' corrals to protect the herds as well as promote fertility and virility. The cavity on the back would have been filled with offerings like coca leaves, maize, or animal fat in order to appease the gods. Size: 1.7" L x 2.25" H (4.3 cm x 5.7 cm)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from the 1950s to the 1960s

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#156955

Minor abrasions to body, neck, and head, with one stable hairline fissure in front of chest, and softening to some finer facial details, otherwise intact and very good. Smooth patina throughout. Old inventory label beneath base.