Moche Bi-Chrome Fish Stirrup Vessel

Pre-Columbian, Peru (North Coast), Moche Culture, ca. 100 to 500 CE. Wow! An incredible mold-made pottery stirrup vessel featuring a fish with a wide face and long body resting atop a globular base with a flattened underside. The thin stirrup and spout rises from the back of the fish. Much of the vessel is painted creamy white, while an earthy red colors the handle and spout and renders details to the fish's body and to the lower part of the vessel. Painted with vertical lines and a solid base, and with a pretty eight-petaled flower at the front just below the fish's chin, one is given the impression that the fish is lurking just above the grasses on the ocean's floor. The Moche were avid fishermen who also believed that their chief god derived his power from the sea, so their artistic interest in depicting fish makes perfect sense! Size: 7" W x 11.45" H (17.8 cm x 29.1 cm)

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Klassen collection, Washington, USA, before 2000

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#153465
Condition Report: Small area of repair/restoration on one shoulder. This is expertly done and almost indiscernible. Otherwise in excellent condition with vibrant pigment and excellent craquelure.