Lot 131
Chancay Pottery Deer Whistle & Salinar Monkey Jar
Chancay Pottery Deer Whistle & Salinar Monkey Jar
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Pre-Columbian, Central Andes, Peru, Salinar culture, ca. 200 BCE to 200 CE; Chancay culture, ca. 1000 to 1470 CE. A captivating pair of Pre-Columbian pottery vessels representing animal forms, each serving both functional and symbolic roles in their respective cultures. The first is a Chancay whistle in the form of a deer-like zoomorph, its rounded body tapering into short legs, with a charming head featuring wide circular eyes, pointed ears, and an open, toothy grin. A small aperture is placed atop the back, allowing the vessel to sound when blown, transforming it into a musical instrument imbued with ritual significance. The deer, an important game animal in the Andes, was closely associated with fertility, sustenance, and shamanic transformation. Alongside it stands a Salinar pottery jar in the form of a monkey, the bulbous body doubling as the vessel chamber. Size of larger (whistle): 7.3" L x 3.3" W x 4.7" H (18.5 cm x 8.4 cm x 11.9 cm)
The primate is rendered clinging to the side, its long arms and expressive face enlivening the composition, with a spout rising from the vessel's back. Monkeys in Andean art were tied to playfulness, sexuality, and agricultural fertility, while also serving as liminal figures between the human and natural worlds. Together, these two vessels highlight the ingenuity and symbolic depth of Andean ceramics, where form and function merge to embody cosmological meaning.
A similar Chancay pottery whistle can be found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as object number 89.4.3432.
Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection; previously bequeathed to the Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem, Israel, stored for many years and exhibited in 1988; ex-Yosef A. Maiman collection, Consul of Peru A.H., acquired in 1993; ex-Kate Kemper collection, Switzerland, acquired in the 1940s or earlier
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#197068
- Condition: Whistle no longer functions musically and has been repaired with restoration over some break lines and others visible. Monkey vessel is missing proper right leg and one handle with loss to top of head and part of right ear. Monkey has also been repaired with break lines visible and some stable fissures. Both have nice remaining detail.
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