Viru Mochica Miniature Raft Tableau | Gilded Standing Oarsman
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Viru-Mochica transitional, North Coast, ca. 300 BCE – 200 CE. A miniature raft in worked sheet metal, its flat deck chased with a low-relief reed pattern in imitation of bound totora bundles. At the stern stands a gilded lord or oarsman, cut from sheet and embossed with a fanged frontal face, twin triangular danglers swinging from his headdress, his hands raised to grip a separately made oar. Two palm trees rise from the deck, each crowned with a conical gilded fruit and thin sheet leaves. Blue-green cuprous patina veils the whole. Such tableaux are exceedingly rare, likely funerary offerings that render in metal the reed craft plying the North Coast rivers and surf, a vessel of both commerce and, perhaps, mythic passage. Size: 2.5" W x 3" H x 5.5" D (6.4 cm W x 7.6 cm H x 14.0 cm D).
The reed raft, or caballito de totora, remains in use on the Peruvian North Coast today, and its ancestors appear again and again in Moche art: modeled on stirrup-spout vessels, incised on fineline ceramics, and cast in metal. In the fineline repertoire, supernatural beings pole rafts loaded with prisoners or jars, and the raft becomes a vehicle for passage between worlds as much as a fishing craft. The gilding here is characteristic of North Coast metallurgy, where artisans achieved a gold surface on high-copper sheet by depletion techniques rather than by applied leaf, an economy of precious metal that let modest alloys read as solid gold in ritual display.
The Viru (Gallinazo) to Moche transition on the North Coast is a period of shared technology and overlapping iconography, and hammered sheet-metal figures with fanged frontal faces and suspended danglers sit squarely in that horizon.
Provenance: Private American collection. Ex. H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, active 1950’s - 1960’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 #
73183
Condition
Overall blue-green surface patina. A small corner piece reattached in the front left corner and missing a very minor 1/8” chip on the front edge. Missing several of the leaves, otherwise intact.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Viru-Mochica transitional, North Coast, ca. 300 BCE – 200 CE. A miniature raft in worked sheet metal, its flat deck chased with a low-relief reed pattern in imitation of bound totora bundles. At the stern stands a gilded lord or oarsman, cut from sheet and embossed with a fanged frontal face, twin triangular danglers swinging from his headdress, his hands raised to grip a separately made oar. Two palm trees rise from the deck, each crowned with a conical gilded fruit and thin sheet leaves. Blue-green cuprous patina veils the whole. Such tableaux are exceedingly rare, likely funerary offerings that render in metal the reed craft plying the North Coast rivers and surf, a vessel of both commerce and, perhaps, mythic passage. Size: 2.5" W x 3" H x 5.5" D (6.4 cm W x 7.6 cm H x 14.0 cm D).
The reed raft, or caballito de totora, remains in use on the Peruvian North Coast today, and its ancestors appear again and again in Moche art: modeled on stirrup-spout vessels, incised on fineline ceramics, and cast in metal. In the fineline repertoire, supernatural beings pole rafts loaded with prisoners or jars, and the raft becomes a vehicle for passage between worlds as much as a fishing craft. The gilding here is characteristic of North Coast metallurgy, where artisans achieved a gold surface on high-copper sheet by depletion techniques rather than by applied leaf, an economy of precious metal that let modest alloys read as solid gold in ritual display.
The Viru (Gallinazo) to Moche transition on the North Coast is a period of shared technology and overlapping iconography, and hammered sheet-metal figures with fanged frontal faces and suspended danglers sit squarely in that horizon.
Provenance: Private American collection. Ex. H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, active 1950’s - 1960’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 #
73183
Condition
Overall blue-green surface patina. A small corner piece reattached in the front left corner and missing a very minor 1/8” chip on the front edge. Missing several of the leaves, otherwise intact.
Buyer's Premium
30%
