Moche Bi-Chrome Seated Cazique Stirrup Vessel

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 600 to 800 CE. A seated figural vessel in the form of a jaguar-headdressed cazique, shaman, or warrior, seated with both hands placed upon the thighs of his folded legs. He wears a tunic with a faint checkered pattern and a delineated belt and collar. Atop his head is a magnificent headdress with two fierce blade forms flanking a jaguar head, probably implying that the individual it depicts wore and actual jaguar head. The figure is also bedecked with enormous round earspools. His face is expressive, with large, coffee bean shaped eyes, tattoo markings or face paint resembling a mask, and a determined, tight-lipped gaze. A stirrup handle projects from the back of the figure and a tall, cylindrical spout rises above his head. Size: 7.5" L x 7" W x 9.75" H (19 cm x 17.8 cm x 24.8 cm)

Jaguar imagery symbolized power and might throughout the Pre-Columbian world; hence, warriors, rulers, hunters, and shamans alike associated themselves with this king of beasts, the largest and most powerful feline in the New World. For the Moche and others, it symbolized a fierceness as well as an individuality that they identified with leaders in their society.

Provenance: private Lewis collection, Florida, USA; ex-Arte Primitivo, New York, USA, March 6, 2017, Lot #224; private Nevada, USA collection, acquired from Foreign Unlimited, Coconut Grove, Florida, USA, 1970s, item #3818FU. Exhibited at the Marjorie Barrick Museum, UNLV, early 1990s.

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#150425
Condition Report: Normal surface wear with fading to checkerboard pattern on tunic (though it is still somewhat discernible) and other areas. Chips to rim of spout - possible repairs to spout/handle/head, but if so, very well done. Minute nicks to peripheries of earspools (possibly reattached), lips, knees, headdress blades, and other high-pointed areas. Collection label and mineral deposits on underside.