Chucu Painted Stone Offering Plaque | Checkerboard and Rings
Pre-Columbian, Peru, South Coast, Chucu, Inca period, ca. 1300–1500 CE. A broad tabular slab of sandstone, tapering to a point, its face covered edge to edge in mineral pigment. The lower half carries a bullseye of concentric rings in white, ochre, red and slate gray; above it a checkerboard of alternating squares in the same earthen palette climbs to the apex. The pigments are ground natural earths applied directly to the unprepared stone, their granular texture following every irregularity of the surface. Plaques of this type were carried into dry caves and set upright as offerings, likely petitions to Pacha Mama and Pacha Papa for water, for healthy herds and for the wellbeing of the clan. Size: 19" W x 27.5" H (48.3 cm W x 69.9 cm H).
The chronology of these painted plaques rests on a single well-documented cache: a group of slabs found stacked inside a cave, each separated from the next by a wooden branch. One of those sticks yielded a radiocarbon date of about 1400 CE, placing the tradition squarely within the Inca horizon on Peru's south coast.
The ritual logic is geographic. This is one of the driest inhabited landscapes on earth, and its only reliable water arrives as spring runoff from Andean snowfields. Offerings deposited in caves, the mouths of the earth, addressed the powers that governed that flow. The concentric ring is widely read in Andean visual language as a solar or water sign, while the checkerboard recalls the tocapu grids woven into elite Inca textiles, a vocabulary of ordered squares that signalled rank and rightness.
A modern custom metal wall hanger is attached to the reverse.
Provenance: Ex. Judith Hilburg Collection, CA, 1970’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73237
Condition
Choice, un-retouched condition, the fugitive paint was consolidated for protection.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Pre-Columbian, Peru, South Coast, Chucu, Inca period, ca. 1300–1500 CE. A broad tabular slab of sandstone, tapering to a point, its face covered edge to edge in mineral pigment. The lower half carries a bullseye of concentric rings in white, ochre, red and slate gray; above it a checkerboard of alternating squares in the same earthen palette climbs to the apex. The pigments are ground natural earths applied directly to the unprepared stone, their granular texture following every irregularity of the surface. Plaques of this type were carried into dry caves and set upright as offerings, likely petitions to Pacha Mama and Pacha Papa for water, for healthy herds and for the wellbeing of the clan. Size: 19" W x 27.5" H (48.3 cm W x 69.9 cm H).
The chronology of these painted plaques rests on a single well-documented cache: a group of slabs found stacked inside a cave, each separated from the next by a wooden branch. One of those sticks yielded a radiocarbon date of about 1400 CE, placing the tradition squarely within the Inca horizon on Peru's south coast.
The ritual logic is geographic. This is one of the driest inhabited landscapes on earth, and its only reliable water arrives as spring runoff from Andean snowfields. Offerings deposited in caves, the mouths of the earth, addressed the powers that governed that flow. The concentric ring is widely read in Andean visual language as a solar or water sign, while the checkerboard recalls the tocapu grids woven into elite Inca textiles, a vocabulary of ordered squares that signalled rank and rightness.
A modern custom metal wall hanger is attached to the reverse.
Provenance: Ex. Judith Hilburg Collection, CA, 1970’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73237
Condition
Choice, un-retouched condition, the fugitive paint was consolidated for protection.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
