Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 400 to 800 CE. A hand-built pottery vessel of a flat-bottomed form featuring Ai Apec - the primary deity of the Moche peoples - standing amongst a plethora of mountainous peaks. Highly burnished and adorned in hues of red-orange and white, Ai Apec stands at attention, holds a staff in his right hand and a rattle in his left, and dons a broad crown bearing the head of a zoomorphic creature. His fierce visage is constructed with almond-shaped eyes, a bulbous nose, tab-shaped ears, and a mouth filled with bared fangs. A large, flared spout on top completes this intriguing example of Moche artistry. Size: 6.875" W x 8" H (17.5 cm x 20.3 cm)

Provenance: ex-Ashland University Museum, Ashland, Ohio, USA, donated to Ashland University between July 1994 to December 1998

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#165718

Small spalls in scattered areas, with abrasions and fading to pigment, several stable hairline fissures commensurate with age, and softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and very good. Nice remains of pigment throughout, and great preservation to facial details of Ai Apec. Old inventory label on base.