Head vessel
Place of originPeru
Nazca
(100 BCE - 800 CE)
Head vessel
Dateca. 400-600 CE, Late Nasca Period
Mediumceramic
Dimensionsobject: 6 1/2 × 4 3/4 × 5 in. (16.5 × 12.1 × 12.7 cm)
ClassificationCERAMICS
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earnest C. Watson
Object number1958.39.3
Subject(s)
- heads and faces
Collection
- Pre-Columbian
- Ancient Americas
On View
Not on viewLabel TextUnlike the art of the nearby Moche culture of ancient Peru, the human faces depicted on Nasca objects do not seem to represent specific individuals. Scenes of everyday life are very rare and people are usually shown one at a time, making it difficult to learn about how society was structured and how its members interacted with one another. Head vessels come in a variety of shapes, sometimes with the eyes or mouth shown as though they were pierced with thorns. Some archaeologists suggest that these vessels were meant to represent the decapitated victims of warfare. Others argue that they represent ancestors, with the head as a metaphor for the regeneration of life.
