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A Pre-Columbian Huari / Wari Ritual Watering Vessel

Currency:USD Category:Antiquities / Pre-Columbian Start Price:125.00 USD Estimated At:250.00 - 350.00 USD
A Pre-Columbian Huari / Wari Ritual Watering Vessel

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Auction Date:2012 Jul 13 @ 10:00 (UTC-06:00 : CST/MDT)
Location:P.O. Box 714, Erie, Colorado, 80516, United States
A relatively rare type of vessel known as a Paccha (ritual watering device/vessel) from the ancient Huari (also spelled Wari) culture of Pre-Columbian Peru, circa 650 A.D. – 800 A.D. This fine example measures approximately 4 1/2” tall by about 4” wide (item alone, at widest points), and includes the acrylic display ring, as shown. This vessel displays decorative and symbolic motifs associated with Huari/Wari style, rendered in brown/black and white pigment against a burnt orange colored slip. The bulbous body features a smaller top portion that resembles the shape of a small bowl, while an open, tapering spout emerges at an angle at the bottom of one side. Such objects are believed to have been used as ritual watering devices, into which liquids were poured and allowed to slowly seep out into the ground through the bottom spout. It is typically assumed that water may have been ritually offered is such vessels, but chemical analyses on some examples have revealed traces of maize beer (Chicha), instead of water. If water was the offered substance, such offerings were likely an effort to ensure rain and/or successful crop growth. If Chicha or Maize beer was offered rather than water (as some examples suggest), the offering may have been considered the completion of a full cycle; the finished product of Maize crops being returned as an offering to a newly prepared field to ensure a successful crop and thus sustained future Chicha production. Alternatively, ritual use of these vessels may have had a broader purpose related to the concept fertility in general. One could interpret a suggestion of fertility in general, in that the vessel itself symbolically embodies and exhibits both “male” and “female” aspects, through the representation of the protruding spout at the bottom (male) and opening at the top (female), respectively. Intact, with only minor, small chipping and abrasions to the rim and spout. Otherwise, minor wear and weathering overall, expected on an authentic, ancient example. Some light mineral and sediment deposits remain on the original burnished surface.

Provenance: Former Indiana, USA collection.

This lot will be sold not subject to a reserve. The starting price is the price at which the item can sell.