Pre-Columbian, Peru, Moche IV, ca. 550 to 650 CE. This is a striking mold-made portrait stirrup vessel with the shape of the body sculpted as part of the shape of the vessel (rather than painted on). In the classic Moche style, the vessel is slip painted and bichrome, with cream and red forming the details. The figure shown here may correspond to a real person, probably of high status, with a highly decorated, incised clothing style. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this figure is that he appears to have leishmaniasis. This is a disease caused by parasites and spread by sandflies that, in its cutaneous form, creates skin ulcers. The figure on this vessel has the classic signs on his nose that he is a survivor of this disease. Such figures are common in Moche iconography, often depicted as here, kneeling with hands on the knees in a pose interpreted as meditation; they seem particularly associated with the funerary rituals of high ranking members of the society. Size: 7" L x 5.45" W x 7.75" H (17.8 cm x 13.8 cm x 19.7 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Slavin collection

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#118592

Probe hole on base, repair to spout, erosion to sections of rear surface.