Description
The imagery of this lively ceramic bowl directly associates agriculture with warfare. At the upper left, plants sprout and grow from the mouths of decapitated heads, signaling the bounty that results from sacrifice. In the center, a costumed figure wearing a whiskered mask and holding a captive channels the power of a wild cat to keep eager mice away from the agricultural abundance.
Provenance
Eduard Gaffron (1861–1931), Lima, Peru, from 1892 to 1912, then Berlin, from 1912 [History of the Department report (Joanne Behrens, 1985) and correspondence in curatorial file]; by descent to his children Mercedes Gaffron (1908–1993), Berlin then Durham, NC, and Hans Gaffron (1902–1979), Berlin then Chicago [correspondence and documentation of the Gaffron Collection in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1955.
Bowl Depicting a Costumed Ritual Performer with Abstract Plants, Holding a Captive
180 BCE–500 CE
Accession Number
91097
Medium
Ceramic and pigment
Dimensions
10.2 × 17.2 cm (4 × 6 3/4 in.)
Classification
bowl
Credit Line
Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
