Moche Pottery Stirrup Vessel - Transformed Potato Head

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, Phase V, ca. 600 to 800 CE. A rare and intriguing example of a hand-built and highly burnished pottery vessel depicting a stylized human head that has completed the transformational process into becoming a potato. The bulbous, head-form body rests atop a slightly round but stable base and has a tapered cylindrical spout projecting from the middle of a stirrup-shaped handle. The deeply meditative countenance is comprised of puffy eyes above a triangular nose, a gaping mouth flanked by deep nasolabial folds, a pair of long-necked birds near either temple, and an abstract simian creature surmounting the forehead. A smaller, nose-less figure near one temple tightly grasps the upper beak of one bird. Russet-hued pigment accentuates the body, handle, and spout of the vessel, and darker red pigment embellishes the surfaces of the eyes and mouth. Size: 5" W x 7.2" H (12.7 cm x 18.3 cm)

Moche artisans were adept at creating pottery vessels in a variety of different forms and styles and oftentimes featured seemingly innocuous items in their artistry - in this case, the potato. Moche artisans created a body of stirrup vessels that emulated the forms of their vegetation - maize, beans, yucca, squash, peanuts, and potatoes were among some of the more preferred styles. Potatoes were an especially important crop in the highlands of ancient Peru where only vegetables cultivated within the rich soil could be grown due to the high altitude and dry climate, though they were also quite prevalent near the coastal regions where the Moche populace flourished.

Provenance: private Washington, D.C., USA collection, acquired in June 2014; ex-Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA; ex-private prominent Hollywood, California, USA collection; ex-Ron Messick Fine Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

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#151812 Dimensions: Condition Report: Minor nicks and abrasions to base, body, handle, and spout, with light encrustations within some recessed areas, softening to some finer details of monkey and birds, and fading to original pigmentation, otherwise intact and very good. Nice traces of original pigment throughout.