Cup (c. 900–600 BCE): Art, History and Details

Cup (c. 900–600 BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

While Chavín held sway in the highlands, coastal artists produced many objects in non-Chavín styles. Such is the case with these small, finely carved, stone containers, which were part of north coast ritual paraphernalia, though their specific use is unclear. Both bear complex designs based on fanged heads in profile that lack lower jaws.

Object facts

• Title: Cup
• Date: c. 900–600 BCE
• Culture: Peru, North Coast, Cupisnique style
• Type: Stone
• Technique: steatite
• Dimensions: Overall: 6 x 5.3 cm (2 3/8 x 2 1/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1954.797

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Milliken, William. "Two Chavin Vessels." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 9 (November 1955): 203-205.

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.