Moche Bi-Chrome Stirrup Vessel - Curandero w/ Mushroom

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche Culture, ca. 100 to 500 CE. Wow! An incredible bichrome terracotta portrait stirrup vessel depicting a seated curandero (healer) with a jaguar headdress. He sits with both hands placed upon upraised knees and feet peeking out from his tunic which is beautifully decorated with geometric motifs. He also wears a shawl around his shoulders and tied over the chest, and is highly decorated with bracelet cuffs adorned by stylized meander motifs, huge round earspools, and of course that impressive jaguar headdress - the wild feline with an expressive visage, raised paws, and a spotted coat that wraps around the shaman's head and trails behind to the lower end of the stirrup. Interestingly, a mushroom cap emerges from the back of the jaguar hat. This is the element that identifies the sitter as a curandero or healer. Size: 9.625" H (24.4 cm)

We know that the Moche believed mushrooms possessed healing powers from other examples of pottery that feature curanderos with mushrooms attempting to cure sick children. Perhaps this mushroom is an Amanita muscaria, a species that although poisonous when raw, certain preparations were lower in toxicity and thought to heal various illnesses.

Provenance: ex-Barakat Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, USA, acquired prior to 2000

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#153773
Condition Report: Professionally repaired from about a half dozen pieces with restoration over the break lines, but very well done and difficult to see. Minute nicks to rim. Normal surface wear with minor scuffs, abraded areas, and nicks commensurate with age. Scattered deposits as shown.