Object Details
Culture
Moche (Peru)
Early Intermediate Period
Date
ca. 100-600 AD
Medium
Redware
Dimensions
10 x 9 inches (25.4 x 22.9 cm)
Credit Line
Transferred from the Anthropology Department, J. B. Steere Collection
Object
Number
56.230
This Moche vessel is made in the form of a fanged central Ai-apaec deity figure holding snakes with (…)
This Moche vessel is made in the form of a fanged central Ai-apaec deity figure holding snakes with feline heads. Ai-apaec was the son of the aloof supreme deity or mountain god, and is often depicted seated under the peaks of the mountains, as in this vessel. The rounded peak-like protruberances at the sides of the vessel, near the figure’s arms, represent these mountain peaks. Ai-apaec is generally pictured with fangs, a supernatural characteristic shared with the great cats (felines and pumas).
