Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca, ca. 200 to 500 CE. A finely built pottery vessel with a round but stable base, a rotund body with a central carination, a gently corseted neck, and a thin rim encircling the deep basin. The highly burnished body is decorated with six stylized trophy heads along the bottom, repeating headbands with horizontal black bars, and a spiked crown lined with additional trophy heads of smaller, vividly colored forms. In Nazca culture - and other ancient Peruvian cultures - the decapitation and ritual use of human heads was common practice; many mythical figures and kings known from Nazca pottery are shown holding trophy heads or in the presence of trophy heads. Lucite display stand for photography purposes only. Size: 4.375" W x 4.6" H (11.1 cm x 11.7 cm)
Provenance: ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, acquired in the 1950s to 1960s
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#150501
Condition
Professionally repaired from multiple pieces, with restoration along some areas of body, neck, and rim, and resurfacing with overpainting along new material and break lines. Minor abrasions to base, body, rim, and interior, with fading and touch-up painting to areas of original pigment, and minor pitting. Nice remaining original pigment throughout. Old inventory label beneath base.