Description:
A very expressive Moche pottery head vessel with strong facial features. Depicted is a male dignitary, who is wearing a wrapped tasseled headdress and large beaded ear spools. Details like the eyelids are shown in relief.
The whole is created in medium brown colour and has painted white highlights and a geometric decoration to the headdress. On the back side the tassels are incised.
The ancient authenticity of the vessel was confirmed by a thermoluminescence test.
Background information:
Possibly the best work about Moche portrait head vessels written so far is that by Christopher B. Donnan, Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru (University of Texas Press, 2004). To quote from his book:
"Only a few ancient civilizations actually developed true portraiture, showing the anatomical features of a person with such accuracy that the individual could be recognized without reliance on accompanying symbols or texts. Of all the civilizations that developed in the Americas prior to European contact, only one perfected true portraiture and produced it in quantity: the Moche" (Donnan 2004, p. 3).
"True portraiture was among the greatest achievements of Moche potters. They skillfully captured the facial features of specific individuals and instilled a lifelike quality in each portrait. Nearly all of the Moche portrait head vessels depict adult males, although some children are also shown. No truly lifelike portrait of an adult female has been identified. Some portrait head vessels show individuals with illnesses, or with abnormalities such as a missing eye or a harelip. As a group, the portraits represent and astonishing range of physical types. They allow us to meet Moche people who lived more than fifteen hundred years ago, and to sense the nuances of their individual personalities" (ibid., p. 9).
"Moche ceramic portrait vessels have been found in only a few of the Moche graves that have been excavated archaeologically. They occur in graves of both males and females - almost exclusively those of high-status individuals. When portrait heads are found in a grave, usually only one or two examples are present. This implies that they were not produced in great number and were seldom available to the common people. There is no evidence that portrait head vessels were ever buried with the individuals they depicted. Although nearly all the portraits are of adult males, they are sometimes found in female burials. Moreover, many portraits were often made of the same individual, and these were ultimately placed in the graves of various people" (ibid., p. 10).
Dating:
Moche IV, ca. 450-600 C.E.
Size:
Height circa 20 cm.
Provenance:
Dutch private collection; with Arte Primitivo, New York, in 2004; previously U.S. private collection, before 1970.
Condition:
A portion of the right ear spool has been professionally reattached. Some surface wear and minor damage as shown. Otherwise intact. Excellent quality and condition. TL tested.
Price:
€ 5,800
Stock number:
P1267