2 Inca Stone Llama Canopa Vessels for Ritual Offerings

South America, Peru / Bolivia, Inca to Spanish Colonial Period, ca. 15th to early 20th century CE. A pair of canopa vessels carved from stones in the form of llamas or alpacas with a rounded body and small drilled eyes, its back hollowed with a circular cavity for ritual deposits. The simple yet evocative form reflects the Andean reverence for camelids as essential providers of wool, transport, and sacrificial power. Canopa were filled with offerings such as fat or chicha, and buried in fields or placed beneath animal pens as a protective talisman and to promote fertility. The tradition of burying or using symbolic offering stones continues in parts of the Andes today, particularly among Quechua and Aymara communities who still perform Pachamama (Earth Mother) rituals. Size of black llama: 2.5" L x 1.75" W x 2" H (6.4 cm x 4.4 cm x 5.1 cm)

Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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#199277

Light scratches and nicks to both, otherwise intact. Remains of fat or wax inside both. Mineral deposits on the surfaces.