Pre-Columbian, northern Peru, Moche culture, ca. 300 to 500 CE. This is a spectacular and rare copper depiction of the god Ai Apaec (also Ai Apec) as a near life-sized figure! This copper being is comprised of 9 separate pieces gathered and displayed on an acrylic panel. Each sheet was hammered and worked into a portion of the deity, his legs and arms splayed out at right angles, the body consists of a triangular waistcloth with applied sheets and repousse designs, fins, and a pectoral plate with repousse animals. The head contains bulging wing shaped eyes, lined with well-defined lids, the pupils cut out, perhaps for inserting precious stones. The pronounced hooked nose is pierced with a nose ornament, and his ears are covered with huge discs. The lower headdress panel has clawed paws that correspond to the 3-dimensional jaguar head above, mounted on an arching panel, and a pair of side fans. Throughout are rings with dangling discs ornaments. Size (head): 22" L x 15.5" W (55.9 cm x 39.4 cm); (acrylic display panel): 58.5" L x 0.25" W x 70" H (148.6 cm x 0.6 cm x 177.8 cm).

Ai Apaec is the primary Moche deity of creation, food, water, military victory and the most feared but respected of the wrathful gods- and sometimes referred to as the headsman or decapitator god! His iconography varies, but his ferocious nature was often depicted as a combination of human, aquatic, spider, and jaguar traits. Scholars posit that during human sacrifices, when prisoners were decapitated, their heads were presented as offerings to Ai Apaec. This ensemble may have covered a sarcophagus for an elite individual or as a funerary banner- the copper deity stitched to a woven textile. Using Ai Apaec as a funerary piece would mark the individual as a highly important or elite member of Moche society, as would the artistry, size, and extensive use of copper in this impressive figure!

Provenance: private Lumberton, Texas, USA collection, acquired before 2010.

#169631

Tear and loss to nose ornament. Some losses to dangling discs with some missing. Tearing and perforation to pectoral and fins on waist. Heavy mineral and earthen deposits throughout; dangling discs have fused to the surface and no longer articulate. Overall excellent preservation. All pieces are custom-mounted a modern rectangular acyclic panel.