Rare Pre-Colonial Moche Portrait Head Vessel With Tumor and Facial Paralysis (Circa a.d. 200-500)

Details

Description

Culture: Moche (Mochica), North Coast of Peru
Title: Portrait Head Vessel with Tumor and Facial Paralysis
Period: Circa A.D. 200–500
… Read more Culture: Moche (Mochica), North Coast of Peru
Title: Portrait Head Vessel with Tumor and Facial Paralysis
Period: Circa A.D. 200–500
Origin: North Coast of Peru
Dimensions: 6.25" H x 6.75" W x 5.25" D (16 x 17 x 13 cm)
Condition: Good; wear consistent with age, chips present on the edge of both ears
Illustrated: Cover, Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey (November 1978)
Provenance: Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Albert and Carol Rosenthal; Estate of Carol Rosenthal

Description:

A Pre-Colonial Moche portrait head vessel, circa A.D. 200–500. The vessel depicts a human face with a clearly rendered facial paralysis and a large tumor at the base of the nose. Executed in terracotta, the piece exemplifies the Moche tradition of representing human figures with physical peculiarities of medical interest.

The Moche culture flourished on the north coast of Peru for several centuries at the beginning of the Christian era. Their material culture was based on clay, and they are renowned for their pottery, which is remarkable in quantity, variety, and pictorial quality. Many Moche vessels represent human figures with physical peculiarities of medical interest.

Whether the double pathology represents manifestations of a single disease or multiple lesions can only be conjectured. Among the single lesions, one might consider sarcoma, encephalocele, meningioma, or gumma plus an independent seventh cranial nerve palsy. Multiple lesions in the differential diagnosis could include neurofibromatosis, metastatic malignancy with bone and meningeal deposits, and sarcomatosis.

This piece was illustrated on the cover of the Journal of the Medical Society of New Jersey (November 1978). The vessel previously belonged to the collection of Dr. and Mrs. Albert and Carol Rosenthal. See less