Bottle with stirrup handle; Moche culture, 400-700 A.D.

Bottle with stirrup handle; Moche culture, 400-700 AD.
Terracotta.
It shows wear on the surface and slight Repainting.
Provenance: Fossa Collection (Caracas/Madrid).
Measurements: 19 x 17 cm.
Bottle with stirrup handle decorated with birds and geometric bands. Settled on the northern coast of Peru, the Moche culture developed in the valleys of Lambayeque, Chicama, Moche and Viru, between 1 and 800 AD. This region is characterized by a desert crossed by several watercourses, which flow into an ocean particularly rich in marine resources. The Moche artisans achieved masterpieces in ceramics, weaving, and gold and silver work. Their characteristic style encompasses the most diverse materials, such as pyrography gourds, mural painting, feather art, and body painting and tattooing. The decoration of the ceramics demonstrates a mastery of pottery work rarely surpassed, resorting to the techniques of incising, bas-relief by means of stamping and painting on smooth surfaces. An important part of these objects were made in specialized workshops controlled by the state, in which pieces were made in series with molds. These vessels not only show a great variety of shapes and decorative styles, but also bear representations of myths and rituals. Among the ceramic forms, the so-called "portrait bottles" or vessels where the face of an important personality in society is portrayed stand out. In them, the characteristic facial features, the use of facial painting or tattoos and the use of complicated headdresses can be observed in great detail. This "portrait" capacity of Moche pottery can also be observed in the representations of possibly daily scenes or in erotic scenes, as well as in the effigies that show hunchbacks, blind people, harelips and other illnesses.