Lot 44
Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca culture, ca. 200 to 600 CE; Central Highlands Peru, Huari (Wari) culture, ca. 700 to 1000 CE. A fine pairing of two distinct yet culturally resonant ceramic vessels from ancient Peru, each testifying to the artistic and ritual traditions of their makers. The first, a Nazca bowl, is hand-formed in a shallow, hemispherical form and painted in deep red slip with serpent motifs that undulate across the outer walls. The serpent was a potent image in Nazca iconography, often associated with fertility, water, and the underworld, reflecting the desert-dwelling culture's dependence upon rainfall and irrigation. The bowl's smooth interior and rounded base speak to its utilitarian yet symbolic purpose, perhaps for food offerings or ritual libations. Accompanying it is a Huari (Wari) pottery kero, a tall beaker-shaped vessel tapering slightly to a flat base. Size of larger (bowl): 6" L x 5.8" W x 3" H (15.2 cm x 14.7 cm x 7.6 cm)
Painted in cream and russet-red, its register is adorned with rectilinear motifs - abstract geometric designs characteristic of the imperial Huari style. Such vessels were modeled on the tradition of wooden and metal kero cups used for ritual drinking, especially in ceremonies involving chicha (maize beer). In the Huari context, kero imagery often carried imperial ideology, linking feasting and toasting with political power and religious devotion. Together, these vessels highlight both continuity and transformation in Andean ceramic traditions, bridging the Nazca's coastal iconographic vocabulary and the Huari's highland statecraft. Their forms and painted designs reveal the deeply spiritual relationship between daily life, natural forces, and ritual practice in ancient Peru.
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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Item #
197059
- Condition: Good. Age-commensurate surface wear with nicks and abrasions as shown. A few small chips in areas. Otherwise, both are intact and excellent with liberal remains of painted decoration.
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