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Art of the Ancient Americas
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Artist: Unknown
Portrait Vessel with a Stirrup Spout
A.D. 400–700
Ceramic with pigment
28.7 cm (11 5/16 in.)
base: 14.6 cm(5 3/4 in.)
28.7 × 14.6 cm (11 5/16 × 5 3/4 in.)
base: 14.6 cm(5 3/4 in.)
28.7 × 14.6 cm (11 5/16 × 5 3/4 in.)
University Purchase
1956.27.7
Moche artists were able to capture a personality in three dimensions, working with clay and limited color ranges of clay slip. This vessel was probably a portrait of a local ruler or the head of a clan. At least one other portrait vessel showing the same individual survives. In addition to his distinctive features, his serpent-design headband may have been a clue to his identity. The stirrup spout, widely used on the arid north coast of Peru, kept liquids from spilling and prevented evaporation.
Geography:
Central Andes, Peru
Status:
On view
Culture:
Central Andes, North Coast, Moche
Period:
Early Intermediate Period
Classification:
Containers - Ceramics
Bibliography:
Handbook of the Collections, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 322, ill.
Dr. Christopher B. Donnan, Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru (Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 2004), pp. 15, 21, fig. 2.5.
Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
