The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Bowl with Costumed Being

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

earthenware with colored slips
Diameter: 12.8 x 17.7 cm (5 1/16 x 6 15/16 in.); Overall: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
Gift of John Wise 1949.561
Location: 232 Andean

Description

Supernatural figures like the one on this bowl are shown wearing ornaments that actually exist-like the nearby Mouth Mask-they may represent humans clothed as deities who served as living cult images during rituals. The figure holds a severed head that probably alludes to capture of an enemy’s life force, since severed heads and fertility are linked in Nasca art.
  • Foote, Helen. "Early Peruvian Pottery." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 37, no. 3 (March 1950): 54-56. Reproduced: p. 52; Mentioned: p. 55 www.jstor.org
  • Gold."
    Americas."
    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
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art: November 9, 1945- January 6, 1946. "Art of the
  • {{cite web|title=Bowl with Costumed Being|url=false|author=|year=100 BCE–700 CE|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.561