**Originally Listed At $350**

Pre-Columbian, southern Peru, Inca hinterlands (Chucu), ca. 1000 to 1500 CE. A rectangular pottery plaque of a slightly concave form from a larger ceramic vessel hand-painted with two by two rows and columns of squares in hues of maroon and grey separated by tan striations. Note how the grey areas sparkle in the sunlight due to applied mica flakes. Plaques like this example were placed as offerings to Pacha Mama and Pacha Papa (Mother and Father Earth) to protect the health of the livestock and the human inhabitants of the clan. Custom suspension hook attachment included, however Lucite stand is not. Size: 7" W x 6.5" H (17.8 cm x 16.5 cm)

These plaques were made by smashing large vessels and painting the fragments. They have been discovered in several different contexts: beneath wall foundations, in graves, with animal sacrifices, and cached in prominent places in the landscape such as springs, rock hollows, and atop hills. They are often discovered in pairs, with the painted surfaces placed so that they are facing each other, sometimes wrapped in leaves or even gold sheet. Although the tablet tradition began centuries before, the time period that this one comes from represents the height of the artform, and corresponds to an intensification of agriculture, the rise of interregional trade networks, and the ascendancy of certain important confederations of clans. Into this potent mix, the Inca expanded into the region, and the tablet tradition abruptly ended. It seems likely that the Inca, who colonized regions in part by sponsoring local ritual activities, outlawed the creation of religious tablets like this, because they saw them as a threat to their trade in sacrificial alpacas, corn beer, and cloth.

Provenance: ex-private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hillberg collection, California, USA before 2010

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#150638

Lower right corner has been reattached with break line barely visible. Age commensurate surface scratches and abrasions to peripheries. Otherwise intact with vibrant pigments!