**Originally Listed At $800**

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chancay culture, ca. 1200 to 1400 CE. A long-legged standing pottery female figure called a cuchimilco, or a star gazer. The figure has small breasts, exaggerated genitalia, and arms that end in hands shaped like flippers. The broad, flat face is dominated by wide, round eyes and red paint that could indicate tattoos. A small, triangular nose juts out from between the eyes. The head is squared off, painted as if with a striped headdress. Size: 8.1" W x 15.4" H (20.6 cm x 39.1 cm)

The Chancay people were exceptional 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. Chancay artisans created ceramics that are quite distinctive in form and decoration - finely painted and molded with specific decorative details carefully added by hand. The function of cuchimilco sculptures is still unknown, but they may have been placed in tombs as companions or guardians of the deceased.

Provenance: Ex-Baker Collection, New Mexico, USA

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#121116

Repaired in multiple places, but repairs are well done and difficult to see.