Vessel in the Shape of a Figure (1000–1460s): Art, History and Details

Vessel in the Shape of a Figure (1000–1460s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This seated figure carries a stag over his shoulders, its antlers now missing and its tongue lolling out in death. That the stag is destined for more than dinner is suggested by the human's pursed lips--perhaps the kiss-like expression of reverence that the later Inka made when approaching a sacred shrine. The animal, then, may be an offering. The two bags painted on the figure's back may be for coca leaves, also very important for rituals. In comparison to earlier ceramics, the Chancay style seems less fine both artistically and technically. yet as this vessel proves, the best Chancay ceramics have appealing charm, in part because of their bold brown-on-white color scheme.

Object facts

• Title: Vessel in the Shape of a Figure
• Date: 1000–1460s
• Culture: Peru, Central Coast, Chancay sytle, 12th-15th century
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: earthenware with painted slip
• Dimensions: Overall: 63.5 cm (25 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1992.231

Collection credit

The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (1993): 38-79.

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.