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Image Not Available for Bird Head Effigy Spout Bottle
Bird Head Effigy Spout Bottle
Image Not Available for Bird Head Effigy Spout Bottle

Bird Head Effigy Spout Bottle

Dateca. 1300-1470
MediumBlackware
Dimensions5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches (14 x 10.8 cm)
CultureChimu (Peru)
PeriodLate Intermediate Period
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineTransfer from the Sociology - Anthropology Department. Spring 1956.
Terms
  • Perú
  • Ceramics
  • Blackware
  • Chimu
Object number56.153
Label CopyThis mold-made Chimú blackware bottle has a bird effigy head on the spout, and a ribbon handle. Birds are often symbolic of the spirit flight taken by a shaman or religious specialist during a vision quest, when the shaman is said to transform into a bird in order to transcend the material world and communicate with ancestor spirits. Often aided by hallucinogenic drugs, a shaman's spirit would fly out from his body in search of knowledge and spiritual fulfillment. Birds of all sorts are commonly depicted on pre-Columbian works of art. Some birds, such as the harpy eagle, are said to "possess all the wisdom of the spirits." Brightly-colored feathers were often added to clothing both for decoration and to symbolize shamanic transformation during vision quests and/or chiefly wisdom.
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