The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

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

wood, inlaid pigments
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.)
Gift of John Wise 1946.233
Location: 232 Andean

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.
  • Shepherd, Dorothy. "An Inca Poncho." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 42, no. 3 (March 1955): 48-50. Mentioned: p. 50 www.jstor.org
    Maurer, Evan M., Molly Hennen, Musée Fabre, Rouen (France), and Musée des Beaux Arts (Lyon, France). Symboles SacréS: Quatre Mille Ans d’Art Des AméRiques. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2002. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 205, 207, no. 177
    Lavaquerie-Klein, Christiane, and Laurence Paix-Rusterholtz. Huaca: TréSors Des Peuples d’AméRique Du Sud. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 28-29
  • Sacred Symbols: Three Thousand Years of Native American Art [FRAME]. Musée Fabre, Montpellier, France (July 16-September 29, 2002); Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, Rouen, France (October 24, 2002-January 13, 2003); Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, 69001 Lyon, France (February 19-April 29, 2003); Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Rennes, France (May 27-August 18, 2003); Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN (organizer) (October 26, 2003-January 11, 2004).
    Montpellier, France: Musee Fabre; July 16- September 29, 2002. Rouen, France: Musee des Beaux Arts; October 24, 2002- January 13, 2003. Lyon, France: Musee des Beaux-Arts; February 19, 2003- April 28, 2003. Rennes, France: Musee des Beaux-Arts: May 27- August 18, 2003. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis Institute of Arts; October 26, 2003- January 11, 2004. FRAME exhibition - "Sacred Symbols: Three Thousand Years of Native American Art."
    Americas."
    and Now."
    Treasures of Peruvian Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 23-April 3, 1966).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23-April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."
    Denver, Colorado: The Denver Art Museum; September 16- October 4, 1959. "Latin America, Then
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9, 1945- January 6, 1946. "Art of the
  • {{cite web|title=Kero (Waisted Cup)|url=false|author=|year=after 1550|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1946.233