The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Architectural Vessel

1–700 CE

Central Andes , Recuay people

(Peru)
ceramic, slip, resist painting
Overall: 24.3 x 19.4 x 16 cm (9 9/16 x 7 5/8 x 6 5/16 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2020.222
Location: 232 Andean

Did You Know?

This vessel may represent the home of an elite family of the Recuay culture of Peru’s northern highlands.

Description

This vessel may represent the home of an elite family of the Recuay culture of Peru’s northern highlands. Inside are two groups of humans who presumably represent a ceremonial gathering—three carry cups, perhaps for libations. On the exterior are the heads of mythical or supernatural creatures painted in dramatic red, white, and black color contrasts.
  • mid 1900s-By 1996
    Acquired in Peru by Mr. and Mrs. Brenner, eventually Zurich, Switzerland, sold to Private Collector
    By 1996-2020
    (Private Collector, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2020-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Pillsbury, Joanne, Patricia Joan Sarro, James A. Doyle, and Juliet B. Wiersema. Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas. 2015. figs. 74-75
  • Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (October 26, 2015 to September 18, 2016).
    Permanent Collection Galleries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (August 14, 1997—April 9, 2018).
    The Collector’s Eye, The Lawrenceville School, New Jersey (May 3 to May 17, 1996).
  • {{cite web|title=Architectural Vessel|url=false|author=|year=1–700 CE|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.222