Object Details
Culture
Moche (Peru)
Early Intermediate Period
Date
ca. 100-750
Medium
Redware
Credit Line
Gift of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, 1877, transferred from the Anthropology Department Collections
Object
Number
56.197
This stirrup-spout Moche vessel is painted with the figure of a spiny fish or crested lizard with hu(…)
This stirrup-spout Moche vessel is painted with the figure of a spiny fish or crested lizard with human-like arms and legs holding a quero (outflaring cup). This bottle is made of redware, with smooth red slip painted over a rough-textured cream ground. This cream and red color combination is characteristic of Moche ceramics. Fish were a critical resource to the peoples of coastal Peru, providing protein to balance out the starchy carbohydrates from the maize-based agricultural portion of the diet.
