|
exhibitions >recent: Of Land, Sea, and Sky
|
|
|
|
|
Figural vessel in the form of a Frog This stirrup spout vessel depicting a life-like frog attests to the Moche artist's awareness of the natural world. Such careful naturalistic portrayals of animals are common in Early Moche ceramics. This rotund fellow with his alert wide-eyed gaze and attentive posture seems all to ready to ambush an unsuspecting fly. It is slip painted in cream and the head tilts upwards exposing a rosy orange gullet beneath the determined, down-turned mouth. Images of frogs and toads are common in the art of many Pre-Columbian cultures. Frogs were common in the river valleys where the Moche lived. Their musical croaking performances after heavy rains led them to be associated with water, vegetation, and fertility. Frogs lay thousands of eggs and squat much like a human female when they give birth; these characteristics may have led to their connection with human fertility. The cyclical quality of their development -- the change from the fish-like tadpole to adult frog alludes to a natural affiliation with mythical concepts of transformation. Scientific classification: "Anura" order. |
