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exhibitions > recent: Of Land, Sea, and Sky
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Figural vessel in the form of an Owl Figural strap-handled spouted vessel in the form of an owl, with wedge shaped body, ear like projections and ocular orbits painted with white slip. The Moche people (who influenced the Vicus people) saw the owl as a friendly guardian spirit of agriculture. Like earlier Moche vessels, Vicus pottery also depicts realistic representations of animals, who were revered for their religious significance. Vicus is an archaeological site in northern Peru, which was discovered in 1961; materials found in the area surrounding Vicus date from 400 BC to 700 AD. Vicus ceramics were either unpainted redware or resist painted, like the present example. Much Vicus pottery resembles that of the earlier Moche culture. Older Vicus pieces are the most pure examples of the Vicus abstract style, that is the most stylized and abstract. The Vicus potters adopted motifs, like birds, fish, felines, and frogs from the Moche people. Scientific classification: "Strigidae" order. |
