Recuay communities (200-700 CE) of highland Ancash (Peru) are known for their elaborate sculptures in clay, comparable to their coastal neighbors, the Moche and the Nasca. Many are functionally vessels, such as this example that joins two chambers, one surmounted by a rodent nibbling on food. A small bridge was placed on top to function as a handle.
Created using iron-poor clays such as kaolinite, the vessel’s body takes on a light tan color after firing. The richly decorated surface was created with a complex combination of slips and resist-painting. The first step consisted in applying white clay to cover large areas of the object, as if creating a canvas where complex figures will be painted. Then, iron-rich red ochre was applied to delineate the panels on the body of the chambers as well as the details of the rodent. Finally, in a second firing, additional details were added using a resist-painting technique.
The body of the rodent features patterning that resembles the fur of animals such as tapirs and deer in their juvenile stage. While the shape of the present creature suggests a rodent, the pattern of the fur must have been used as an indicator of its age. The panels differ in subject matter: on the chamber with the rodent, the artist painted mirrored versions of an animal with toothy snout and rampant pose, sometimes referred as the “Recuay dragon” or “crested feline” (Lau, 2011: 207-208). On the other chamber, the artist painted a pair of birds. From [The MET](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309385)
takaji10 on
I would love to buy a reproduction of this – really cute!
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Recuay communities (200-700 CE) of highland Ancash (Peru) are known for their elaborate sculptures in clay, comparable to their coastal neighbors, the Moche and the Nasca. Many are functionally vessels, such as this example that joins two chambers, one surmounted by a rodent nibbling on food. A small bridge was placed on top to function as a handle.
Created using iron-poor clays such as kaolinite, the vessel’s body takes on a light tan color after firing. The richly decorated surface was created with a complex combination of slips and resist-painting. The first step consisted in applying white clay to cover large areas of the object, as if creating a canvas where complex figures will be painted. Then, iron-rich red ochre was applied to delineate the panels on the body of the chambers as well as the details of the rodent. Finally, in a second firing, additional details were added using a resist-painting technique.
The body of the rodent features patterning that resembles the fur of animals such as tapirs and deer in their juvenile stage. While the shape of the present creature suggests a rodent, the pattern of the fur must have been used as an indicator of its age. The panels differ in subject matter: on the chamber with the rodent, the artist painted mirrored versions of an animal with toothy snout and rampant pose, sometimes referred as the “Recuay dragon” or “crested feline” (Lau, 2011: 207-208). On the other chamber, the artist painted a pair of birds. From [The MET](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309385)
I would love to buy a reproduction of this – really cute!