Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chancay culture, ca. 1200 to 1400 CE. A hollow made terracotta figure, standing on thick legs and flat feet with paddle-like hands held upward. The face has been painted with eyes, a chinstrap beard, and a headband. The body is wonderfully monolithic and rounded, with prominent male anatomy exposed and tumescent. The Chancay people were exquisite ceramic and textile artisans, and archaeologists have often found cuchimilcos in the tombs of Chancay nobility; some scholars believe that their outstretched hands were intended to absorb negative energy. The Chancay artisans created ceramics that are quite distinctive in form and decoration that were finely painted and molded with specific decorative details carefully added by hand. The function of these cuchimilco sculptures is still unknown, but they may have been placed in tombs as companions or guardians of the deceased. Size: 12" W x 21.3" H (30.5 cm x 54.1 cm)

Provenance: private Poway, California, USA collection

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#124642

Repairs to limbs and legs. Fine pigment remaining.