Architectural Vessel (1–700 CE): Art, History and Details

Architectural Vessel (1–700 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This vessel may represent the home of an elite family of the Recuay culture of Peru’s northern highlands. Inside are two groups of humans who presumably represent a ceremonial gathering—three carry cups, perhaps for libations. On the exterior are the heads of mythical or supernatural creatures painted in dramatic red, white, and black color contrasts.

Object facts

• Title: Architectural Vessel
• Date: 1–700 CE
• Culture: Central Andes (Peru), Recuay people
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: ceramic, slip, resist painting
• Dimensions: Overall: 24.3 x 19.4 x 16 cm (9 9/16 x 7 5/8 x 6 5/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 2020.222

Collection credit

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Pillsbury, Joanne, Patricia Joan Sarro, James A. Doyle, and Juliet B. Wiersema. Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. 2015.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.