Lot 103A
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chancay culture, ca. 1200 to 1400 CE. A matched male and female pair of terracotta standing figures, known as cuchimilcos or star gazers, both unusually painted dark red with white details (most standing figures from this culture are black-on-white). They stand with their arms raised, their hands outstretched and flipper-like. Both have prominent sexual characteristics and stylized, similar faces. The male wears a squared-off headdress that seems to have once had horns projecting from both upper corners. Horns are sometimes an indication of shaman status. The female has a rounded headdress and her face is painted into quadrants of alternating black and yellow. Size of male: 8.75" W x 14.35" H (22.2 cm x 36.4 cm)
Finding a pair of these figures is quite rare, as most that we know of are female - male depictions are not at all common. The Chancay people were exceptional ceramic and textile artisans, and archaeologists have often found cuchimilcos in the tombs of Chancay nobility. Some scholars believe that their outstretched hands were intended to absorb negative energy. The Chancay artisans created ceramics that are quite distinctive in form and decoration that were finely painted and molded with specific decorative details carefully added by hand. The function of these cuchimilco sculptures is still unknown, but they may have been placed in tombs as companions or guardians of the deceased.
Provenance: Ex-Baker Collection, New Mexico, USA
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#121117
- Condition: Male figure: repaired at foot, neck, and back. Horns have small losses. Female figure: repaired on head and limbs from multiple pieces. Both figures' repairs are well done and difficult to see.
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