Bowl with Trophy Heads (c. 100–650 CE): Art, History and Details

Bowl with Trophy Heads (c. 100–650 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Nasca is one of the two major cultures and ceramic styles of its periods, and one of the finest ceramic styles ever produced in the South American Andes. Vessel walls are thin, firing temperatures higher than in earlier times, and a variety of warm, earthen-toned slips come into use. This small bowl features repetitions of human trophy heads—a major Nasca motif that refers both to war and fertility.

Object facts

• Title: Bowl with Trophy Heads
• Date: c. 100–650 CE
• Culture: Peru, Nasca, Early Intermediate Period
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: ceramic, slip
• Dimensions: Overall: 10.2 x 10.2 cm (4 x 4 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 2009.435

A detail from the museum

Two important themes in Nasca art are war and fertility.

Collection credit

Gift of Barry Bradley

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.