Pre-Columbian, north coast of Peru, Moche Valley, Salinar / Moche transition, ca. 200 BCE to 200 CE. An intriguing hand-built pottery vessel with a highly stylized depiction of Ai Apec, the chief deity of the Moche culture. The spherical body has a round but stable base, slightly convex walls, and a hemispherical topside surmounted by a stirrup-shaped handle and a cylindrical spout with a flared lip. Highly burnished and presented with hues of lavender and red-orange, the image of Ai Apec is shown with outstretched arms, a two-panel tunic adorned with circles and triangles, exposed testicles, and a fierce visage with bared fangs and a serpentine coiffure. A pair of repeating eye-form registers encircle the body between pairs of concentric bands to create an eye-catching vessel. Size: 5.7" Diameter x 8.2" H (14.5 cm x 20.8 cm)

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

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#166343

Professional restoration to spout base and spout rim, with nearly invisible resurfacing and overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor abrasions to base, body, and handle, with one small spall along lower body, and light fading to original pigment. Great preservation to pigment on body as well as Ai Apec imagery.