Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Wari (Huari) culture, ca. 6th to 9th century CE. A delightful cylindrical container called a poporo, hollowed out to hold powdered lime, part of the accoutrement of ingesting coca, hand-carved from the bone of an ungulate. The exterior of the cylinder has been incised with a complex pattern - a wide register of anthropomorphic and feline heads ring the upper third of the poporo. The lower two-thirds has a tight pattern of diamonds inside of larger diamonds, stippled to create further decoration, a design sometimes interpreted as symbolizing raindrops. The makers drilled two round perforations through the piece to make the material within more accessible. Size: 1" W x 3" H (2.5 cm x 7.6 cm).

Provenance: private Haiku, Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, acquired 1960 to 1970

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#132532

Surface wear commensurate with age and use, otherwise intact and very good.