Huaco with stirrup handle; Moche culture, Peru, 400-700

Huaco with stirrup handle; Moche culture, Peru, AD 400-700.
Polychrome ceramic.
Thermoluminescence attached.
Intact piece with slight repainting on the hand and hair.
Provenance: private collection, Spain.
Measurements: 19,5 x 20 x 9 cm.
Huaco mochica figurative of erotic theme, made of ceramic and polychrome. The piece has a body or vessel with a stepped truncated cone shape, in which the polychromy is alternatively combined. The upper part of the body is topped with a sculptural group worked in rounded form depicting a couple having sexual relations. The figures depicted, although synthetic, are very expressive, and it is worth noting that one of the heads has a stirrup handle that ends in the body. This type of scenes representing different postures of a sexual nature were very frequent in the art of the Mochica culture, which were interpreted as a symbol of fertility.
The Moche culture, located on the northern coast of Peru, developed in the valleys of Lambayeque, Chicama, Moche and Viru, between 1 and 800 AD. This region is characterised by a desert crossed by several watercourses, which flow into an ocean particularly rich in marine resources. The Moche artisans produced masterpieces in ceramics, weaving and gold and silver work. Their characteristic style encompasses the most diverse materials, such as pyro-engraved gourds, mural painting, feather art, and body painting and tattooing. The pottery decoration demonstrates a mastery of pottery making rarely surpassed, using the techniques of incising, bas-relief stamping and painting on smooth surfaces. A significant proportion of these objects were made in specialised workshops controlled by the state, in which mass-produced pieces were made using moulds. These vessels not only display a wide variety of shapes and decorative styles, but also bear depictions of myths and rituals. Among the ceramic forms that stand out are the so-called "portrait bottles" or vessels in which the face of an important figure in society is portrayed. The characteristic facial features, the use of face paint or tattoos and the use of complicated headdresses can be seen in great detail. This "portrait" capacity of Moche pottery can also be seen in the depictions of possibly everyday scenes or erotic scenes, as well as in the effigies showing hunchbacks, blind people, cleft lips and other illnesses.