Pre-Columbian, Central Coast Peru, Incan Empire, ca. 1300 to 1532 CE. An attractive kero (or drinking cup), hand-carved from hard wood, presenting a graceful conical body with a thick rim and a slightly-flared base. The lower body is decorated with two incised panels, each depicting a striped and spotted serpent set atop a stippled ground with a small lizard beneath. The walls of the upper vessel body also boast a pair of incised panels, each illustrating a long-necked crane with its head pointed downwards, and surrounded by stepped motifs in the corners atop a stippled ground. Both the exterior and the interior of the cup are covered in a lustrous espresso-hued patina. Size: 4.425" W x 6.375" H (11.2 cm x 16.2 cm).

Provenance: private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Arte Primitivo Gallery, New York, New York, USA

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#136743

Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, very minor nicks to body and base, with fading to some incised details, and light roughness across base and interior, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout. Incised motifs are still visible.