47168

Moche Stirrup Spout Vessel with Warriors/Prison

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:1,000.00 USD Estimated At:4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
Moche Stirrup Spout Vessel with Warriors/Prison
<B>Stirrup-spout Vessel with Warriors and Prisoners</B></I><BR>Moche<BR>A.D. 300 - 600<BR>Ceramic, red on buff<BR>Height 11 1/4 in. Diameter 6 3/4 in.<BR><BR>Two pairs of figures in fine-line painting are shown in rapid motion around this elegant fourth-stage stirrup-spout vessel. In both pairs a naked prisoner runs before an armed warrior who reins in the prisoner by a neck cord held in the left hand along with a small round war shield. Each warrior holds in his right hand a weapon with a club head on a wire-thin shaft. The warriors wear differing helmets and waist bands but similar kilts. Each prisoner carries in his left hand a "trophy" of his own stripped arms. In Moche society nakedness constituted an extreme form of humiliation of captives. The vessel is in good overall condition, with two small drill pits in the base, although the owner's records did not include laboratory reports.<BR><BR>Provenance<BR>Sotheby's, New York: sale 7902, 15 May 2003, lot 270, pp.182-183<BR><BR>