Moche, Perú Terracotta Figurative Huaco with erotic scene. 300-600 AD. 21 cm Height. Spanish port License.

Figurative huaco with erotic scene.

CULTURE: Moche, Perú

PERIOD: 300-600 AD.

MATERIAL: Terracotta

DIMENSIONS: Height 21 cm

CONDITION: Good condition. It has slight wear on the right hand.

PROVENANCE:

- Kemper Collection, Switzerland. Donated to the "Museum of Islamic Art", Jerusalem, during the 1970s. Acquired by Yossef Maiman in 1991.

The Kepmer collection was created between the years 1940 and 1980. The items that were not donated to the "Museum of Islamic Art" were sold at Christie's Amsterdam on April 11, 1995.

DOCUMENTATION: Spanish Import license included.

DESCRIPTION:

The Moche culture inhabited the coast of present-day northern Peru, concentrating in the valleys of Lambayeque, Chicama, Moche and Virú. This desert region is crossed by several rivers that flow down into the Pacific Ocean, where marine resources are plentiful.

The Moche produced fine ceramic, textile and precious metal pieces. Their characteristic style can be seen in a wide range of goods such as fire-engraved gourds, wall murals, featherwork art, body painting and tattoos. Their ceramic decoration displays a level of skill that has rarely been surpassed, and included such techniques as incision, bas-relief with stamps, and painting on smooth surfaces. Many were made in state-run workshops that mass-produced pieces from molds. Their ceramics came in a variety of forms and decorative styles and displayed myths and ritual motifs as well. Notable among these earthenware forms were the so-called “portrait bottles”, bottles molded with the face of a well-known Moche figure. These highly detailed facial portraits reflect the Moche’s own use of face paint and/or tattoos, as well as elaborate headdresses. This portrait-making expertise can also be observed in everyday scenes and erotic representations, as well as in figures of individuals that were hunch backed, blind, or suffered from other disorders. They were skillful metalworkers, using gold, copper and silver to make ear ornaments, nose rings, bracelets, necklace beads, tweezers and a variety of tools. Especially notable is the tumi or ceremonial knife that was usually only carried by Moche officials.

Many of the motifs adorning early Moche ceramics were derived from the Recuay culture. These two peoples were certainly in contact, as all of the irrigation waters the Moche used in their valleys flowed down from Recuay territory. In the early years, the Moche also had contact with groups of the Salinar and Gallinazo cultures. It is very likely that the Moche disappeared when they were overtaken by the Wari Empire, but their civilization also suffered from long periods of flooding by the El Niño phenomenon, which would have destroyed their farming infrastructure and could have helped precipitate their collapse. The final stage of the Moche culture displays features that would later appear in the Chimú culture.




Notes:
The seller guarantees that he acquired this piece according to all national and international laws related to the ownership of cultural property. Provenance statement seen by Catawiki.
The seller will take care that any necessary permits, like an export license will be arranged, he will inform the buyer about the status of it if this takes more than a few days.
The piece includes authenticity certificate.
The piece includes Spanish Export License.