Published Vessel Fragment of the Chancay Culture

Culture: Peru/Chancay Culture

Period: 11th-15th century A.D.

Material: Terracotta

Dimensions: 17.5 cm in diameter

Price: 900 Euro

Ref: 11087

Provenance: Austrian private collection of Prof. Josef Mairitsch (1938-1994), inventory number M 123. Acquired between 1960 and the early 1980s. Thereafter in family ownership. With the catalogue page and the copy of the inventory list.

Condition: Unrestored

Description: Exceptionally charming, figurative terracotta fragment of an amphora from the Peruvian Chancay culture. The depiction shows a man lying horizontally across the vessel's shoulder, his body formed by the round spout. His arms, head, and legs seem to emerge from the neck of the vessel. The man has a flat head, wears a conical headdress, and has protruding, pierced ears. His mouth is rounded, as if he were whistling. The eyes are painted black, with large, long eyelashes hanging below. The slender arms extend from both sides of the head, with the four-fingered hands resting in front of the face. At the back, articulated legs emerge from the neck of the vessel, ending in oversized feet with four toes. On the sides of the figure, the semicircular handles are still preserved, decorated on their upper surfaces with a meander pattern. The fragment of what was once a high-quality vessel is published in: Josef Mairitsch, „Columbus am Wörthersee. Amerika vor Columbus.“ Catalogue for the special exhibition of the cultural department of the state capital Klagenfurt from 1 June to 31 October 1992, p. 100, no. 18.01.