Ancient Peruvian Art

Pre-Columbian Art went to the Orlando Museum of Art. From their collection of Pre-Columbian, Peruvian art, I selected the "Shaman Figure Vessel" and the "Stirrup-spout Hand Vessel." The Shaman Figure vessel is from the Nazca culture. This piece is an image of a Shaman or other very important person in the culture. The shape of the piece is aesthetically pleasing, probably thrown on a wheel. A trimmed foot raises the piece from the surface, giving the piece more lift and energy.

The detail of the glazes is impressive, with multiple earth colors used. Great detail has been put into making the piece symmetrical. Dots in a stripe of off-white are carefully spaced. The representation of feet contain five toes with one toe larger, suggesting human form, although the piece has a cat's face. Given the great care into the decoration of this piece it may have served an important ceremonial purpose.

Since it is a vessel with a spout on the back of the cat big enough to drink from, it may have been used for some ceremonial beverage. One can imagine the piece placed carefully for storage and treated with care and reverence. I was surprised by my reaction to this piece. It connected me to the culture in a very concrete way. I could imagine it being used in a ceremony, perhaps passed around the way a communion cup is used in today's religions.

I was also impressed by the amount of time it must have taken to get the glazes on this piece exactly as the artist wanted them. The face is very expressive, I think, with large, unblinking eyes. It gives the piece emotional power that would make it appropriate for an important person's use. It demonstrates the worth of studying humanities. It is worth seeing and trying to understand such pieces. The piece demonstrates the sophistication of the Nazca culture.

I think the piece has great presence, and I see no weaknesses. Its relatively monochromatic color scheme allows the viewer to focus on the form of the shape and designs added to it. I found the piece intriguing and made me want to look at other Pre-Columbian art. The second piece I looked at, "Stirrup-spout Hand Vessel," is quite different from the first. It is more representational, an accurate model of a hand. It also has a spout, but does not have the elaborate decoration of the first piece.

Glaze coloring was used realistically this time, to distinguish the fingernails, and to separate the added double spout from the hand. Other touches included darker color on the thumb knuckle, as might be true of someone who has worked with his or her hands a lot. The piece seems gestural, as if a hand is offering another person a drink in friendship. It seems more friendly than ceremonial. It is from a different culture, the Vicus/Moche. The workmanship is also excellent on this one, being a very good.