Stirrup spout vessel: fanged deity with crab body

ca. AD 500-750

Flourishing from about 50–800 on the north coast of Peru, the Moche civilization honored their deceased with vessels that depict people, animals, and sea life as realistic representations, mythic monsters, and narrative elements. The inclusion of fangs on this composite human-animal being suggests that it is a supernatural entity.

Reduction ware

9 x 6 in. (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund

77.18

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Cosmic Beings in Mesoamerican and Andean Art, Nov. 10, 2018 - ongoing.

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