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| Keywords: Chancay - Vessel - Walters 20092035.jpg The Chancay art style dominated Peru's Central Coast during the Late Intermediate Period although there was no centralized overarching state authority ruling the region Textiles and pottery were the primary artistic media the former being among the most colorful visually complex and technically excellent weavings ever produced in Peru Chancay pottery on the other hand is often rather casually or carelessly painted its slip characterized by a matte surface finish and a palette restricted to white and black with the infrequent addition of red or beige The low-fired Chancay ceramics make them susceptible to surface damage unlike the earlier pottery of the Moche Nasca and Waricultures On the other hand Chancay painting can be as lively as that of any Andean tradition The acute difference in quality between Chancay ceramics and textiles reflects sociopolitical divisions in Chancay culture Burial patterns indicate that the painted ceramics were consumed by all levels of Chancay society whereas fine textiles and precious metal objects were restricted to members of higher status As elsewhere in the Andean world artistic quality and materials conveyed messages of hierarchy and power This tall narrow vessel features the frontal rendering of a male figure He grasps a puma-headed staff in each hand and two serpent-headed rays emanate from his head These pan-Andean features link the figure to traditional depictions of supernatural beings or deities and shamans The bird painted at the top of the vessel reflects this theme in its crescent-shaped head adornment which distinguishes the Sicán Deity or Sicán Lord who may be a culture hero or a deity among cultures to the north The Sicán Lord is associated primarily with the Sicán and later Chimú societies of the North Coast although the Chimú extended their influence over the Chancay people at the end of the Late Intermediate Period It is not improbable that this symbol of divinity and/or sacred ancestry was adopted by the Chancay The painter of this tall vessel animated the scene by filling the background with black avian footprints which at the least lend motion to the bird if not implying its ritual performance AD 1000-1470 Late Intermediate earthenware slip paint cm 29 69 12 19 accession number 2009 20 35 80190 Economos Works of Art date and mode of acquisition unknown John G Bourne 1990s by purchase Walters Art Museum Gift of John Bourne 2009 place of origin Central Coast Walters Art Museum license Pre-Columbian art in the Walters Art Museum Chancay pottery Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Lambayeque pottery Staff God | ||||
