A Paracas Bridge-Handle Vessel Peru, c. 700-100 BCE Hollow earthenware with a burnished variegated brown slip , additional pigments painted on the face and bird. To one side is a large abstract feline head in profile, incised and painted in orange, cream, and brown. The head has one eye, nostril, the mouth with fangs, and a small circle (earspool?) to its left and a tripart symbol emanating from its snout resembling at tongue, flame, or sprouting corn kernel. Above it a bird perches on one of the spouts connected by the bridge handle. A whistling device fashioned in the throat of the bird. Note: This imagery and style of this early Paracas vessel shows the influence of the earlier Chavin culture (1200-500 BCE). The upward looking eye and interlocking fangs recall images found in Chavin pottery and textiles. Provenance: A Private Collection, New York, NY, acquired in 1990 Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York, NY Height: 6 ½ inches HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

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