The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 29, 2023

Architectural Vessel

AD 1–700

Central Andes (Peru), Recuay people

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

Fun Fact

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.

Provenance
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
Citations
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
Exhibition history

The Collector’s Eye, The Lawrenceville School, New Jersey (May 3 to May 17, 1996).

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).

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