Rattle Bowl with Image of Winged Creatures
Unknown Moche artist, North coast, Peru. Rattle Bowl with Image of Winged Creatures, 300–600 CE. Slip-painted ceramic, 7 ⅝ x 15 ¼ inches. Denver Art Museum Collection: Gift in memory of L. K. Land, 1991.492.
Rattle Bowl
Moche
About A.D. 300–600
Peru, north coast
Earthenware with colored slips
Gift in memory of L. K. Land, 1991.492
The hollow base of this bowl contains small ceramic balls that roll and rattle when it is moved. The scene painted around the bowl’s flaring lip depicts four bird-men hastening through a desert environment (indicated by cactus plants). Each of the supernatural beings has human legs and an arm, combined with the head, wing, and tail of a bird. Knee spots mark them as warriors, as do the shield and war club each one brandishes. Battle is a common theme in Moche ceramics – both warfare between human beings, and supernatural contests.
- “Stampede: Animals in Art” — Denver Art Museum, 9/10/2017
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