The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 8, 2026

A reddish-brown earthenware vessel depicts a human head with a tall spout extending from a curved handle atop the crown. The face features wide-set eyes, a straight nose, a thin mouth, and prominent ears. A cream-colored headband wraps the forehead, decorated with brown geometric triangles and zigzags. Dark mottled patches of discoloration mark the left side of the face. The vessel's smooth surface is finished with a polished, colored slip.

Portrait Head Vessel

c. 200–550 CE

Peru, North Coast, Moche style

earthenware with colored slips
Overall: 32 x 18.6 x 19.3 cm (12 5/8 x 7 5/16 x 7 5/8 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.227
Location: 232 Andean

Description

The Moche were unique in ancient Peru in creating realistic human portraits, usually in the form of ceramic vessels. In general, such vessels represent more than 750 individuals; identities are unclear but most are elite men, some probably rulers. The stirrup-shaped spout is a hallmark of Moche ceramic production.
  • ?-1967
    (May Company, Cleveland, OH, 1967, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener)
    1967-1990
    James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1990
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 265 www.jstor.org
  • The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 4 - November 29, 1992. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art. 79 (September, 1992.) cat. no. 132, p. 275, repr. fig. 132, p. 265.
  • {{cite web|title=Portrait Head Vessel|url=false|author=|year=c. 200–550 CE|access-date=08 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.227