Pre-Columbian Cupisnique Stirrup Vessel from Peru

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A pre-Columbian ceramic stirrup vessel in Cupisnique style circa 700-500BCE. This ancient vessel features a robust squatted body and a … Read more A pre-Columbian ceramic stirrup vessel in Cupisnique style circa 700-500BCE. This ancient vessel features a robust squatted body and a short thick stirrup sprout. Bold geometrical designs in low reliefs colored in black dramatically contrast the red burnished background.
The Cupisinque culture flourished from circa 1500 to 500 BCE along what is now Peru's Northern Pacific Coast. It shares artistic style with Chavin culture, which rose from the same area in a slightly later period (900-200 BCE). As two distinct but related cultures, their relationship is not entirely understood. It also shares similar ceramic designs with much later Moche culture (100-700AD), suggesting a cultural lineage. The stirrup pot from Cupisnique culture tend to be very robust in form with dark surface due to the high smoke in the fire, and often have incision design like this one on offer.
Provenance: From a private American collection. Purportedly acquired on 06/03/1972 from Sotheby's Parke Bernet. New York.
Many similar stirrup vessels are in the collection of Museo Larco in Lima, Peru such as ML015091 and ML015115.
Another similar piece is in the collection of Metropolitan Musuem of Art: Accession Number: 1978.412.38 See less