**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Northern Peru, Inca Empire, ca. 1200 to 1532 CE. A hand-carved wooden drinking vessel known as a kero with a flat base, a gently corseted body, and a thick rim surrounding the basin. The conical vessel was turned on a lathe to create its elegant form, and finely painted with a figural program featuring two polychrome armored warriors facing one another, each holding a spear and a rectangular shield. The opposite side of the vessel depicts a right-facing jaguar laying recumbent atop a series of geometric patterns, and a pair of stemmed flowers - perhaps Kantuta, that was associated with the Inca elite noble class - extend upwards from the base. Size: 5.5" W x 6.625" H (14 cm x 16.8 cm)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Dr. James Tait Goodrich collection, Grandview-on-Hudson, New York, USA, 1980s - 2020, and thence by descent

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#177580

Repairs to several large fissures, with some resurfacing along new infill material and light adhesive residue visible in scattered areas. Chipping, abrasions, and age-commensurate desiccation to wood, with abrasions and fading to pigment, and some inactive insect damage. Great pigment remains across exterior. Previous inventory label beneath base.