**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, central highlands of Peru or Lake Titicaca region of Bolivia, Huari (Wari) or Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) respectively, Middle Horizon, ca. 600 to 1000 CE. A beautiful polychrome kero, finely handbuilt from terracotta and used for libations such as Chicha (a native beer made from fermented corn). The kero presents a characteristic beaker form with a wide, flared rim. The walls are decorated with three large, nearly identical abstract figures who are presented in profile, wielding a weapon with crescent-shaped blades. A lively example that may have been used during wartime rituals given its imagery! Size: 5.5" in diameter x 7.125" H (14 cm x 18.1 cm)

According to the Dallas Museum of Art, "In the history of the central Andes, the Middle Horizon (600–1000 CE) was dominated by two cultures, Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) and Huari (Wari). The names of the cultures derive from two imperial cities that flourished in the central and southern highlands—Huari near the modern city of Ayacucho in present-day Peru, and Tiahuanaco on the edge of Lake Titicaca in what is now northwestern Bolivia. Expanding their influence to other highland and coastal regions, they are often called the first Andean empires, since their political and administrative tactics paved the way for later expansive states—those of the Chimu and the Inca (Inka). The Huari culture existed by 600 CE and is closely related in style to Tiahuanaco. The Huari adopted many themes expressed in Tiahuanaco art, but created more abstract, deconstructed images compared to Tiahuanaco's more literal art style. Huari also influenced the Late Nazca (Ica) culture of the southern coast and the site of Pachacamac on the central coast."

Provenance: private Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, USA collection; acquired from Revere auction, St. Paul, Minnesota on January 19, 2019

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#158243

Chips to rim, a few small sections of rim reattached, and about a 2.5 inch section of rim restored. A few areas of repair to vessel body and base with some repainting and restoration over the break lines, but very well done and difficult to discern. Minor surface wear with scuffs. Nice burnishing marks.