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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Art of Peru : Stirrup Vessel Depicting an Underworld Scene
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Stirrup Vessel Depicting an Underworld Scene - PF.2047
Origin: Peru (North Coast)
Circa: 1
AD
to 500
AD
Dimensions:
7.25" (18.4cm) high
Catalogue: V5
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
Additional Information: SOLD
$4,500.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
This fascinating figure is perhaps an
allegorical
depiction of a human corpse rotting in
the
underworld. The grinning skull is
surrounded by
abstract animals often associated with
death,
including birds that pick at the flesh
and the
serpent and jaguar that wrestle in the
eternal
battle of good versus evil. This
macabre vessel is
probably the Mochica equivalent of a
'Memento
Mori,' a reminder that death comes to
all
mortals. Though we might turn from it
in fear or
disgust, its central message is as true
for our
own age as it was for the Mochica.
- (PF.2047)
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