Stirrup spout vessel in the form of a fawn
Stirrup spout vessel in the form of a fawn
Date2nd century BCE - 5th century CE
Mediumceramic
Dimensionsobject: 7 1/2 × 10 × 5 in. (19.1 × 25.4 × 12.7 cm)
ClassificationMATERIAL CULTURE
Credit LineSBMA, Gift of Larry and Judi Anderson
Object number2005.48.1
Subject(s)
- animal
- deer
Collection
- Pre-Columbian
- Ancient Americas
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextMoche artists made ceramics in many different forms including animals, humans, vegetables, and architecture. Different from the other ancient artistic traditions of the Andes, Moche art had a great degree of realism. It has been suggested that the stirrup spout shape helped to prevent the liquid from spilling or evaporating too quickly. Analyses of the residues on similar objects have shown that they could be used to hold chicha, a type of beer made from corn (maize). This liquid had both everyday and ritual functions and was often made in the home. As in the fineline vessel to the left, the deer here alludes to the hunting practices of elite Moche society. There is little archaeological evidence to suggest that deer were a major source of sustenance for the Moche, with the elite instead depending on the labor of large numbers of agricultural workers for food. Due to the interests of early archaeologists and collectors as well as problems of perishability and survival, today’s museum collections rarely contain material which can tell us a great deal about the lives of ordinary people in ancient societies.
