Artwork Page for Kero (Waisted Cup)

Details / Information for Kero (Waisted Cup)

Kero (Waisted Cup)

after 1550

Peru, Colonial Inka style, 16th century

Medium
wood, inlaid pigments
Measurements
Diameter of mouth: 18.3 x 14.4 cm (7 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.); Overall: 18.3 x 14.4 cm (7 3/16 x 5 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of John Wise 1946.233
Public Domain
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Location
232 Andean
Print

Description

Keros, used to drink the maize beer chicha, were essential items of Inka statecraft. Made and used in pairs, they reflect the important Andean concept of reciprocity. Native use of keros continued in the colonial period, the date of these two examples, which come from separate pairs. The example with geometric motifs is closest to pre-conquest models. On the second, two armies converge: the Inka, dressed in tunics with waistbands, and their opponents, perhaps jungle people whose body parts are heaped in a centerpiece.
Cylindrical wood cup that widens subtly at the rim and is decorated with three bands of images, mainly pigmented with red, black, and cream. The top band depicts a stylized figure in a tunic holding a spear, another figure with an ax to our right. Below is a narrower band with geometric shapes. The bottom band contains three rows of insect-like creatures. Cracks wind through the paint, with flakes chipped off, particularly across the bottom.

Kero (Waisted Cup)

after 1550

Peru, Colonial Inka style, 16th century

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