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Stirrup-spout Fish Effigy Bottle
Stirrup-spout Fish Effigy Bottle

Stirrup-spout Fish Effigy Bottle

Dateca. 100-750
MediumRedware
CultureMoche (Peru)
PeriodEarly Intermediate Period
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineGift of Louis Agassiz Fuertes, 1877; transferred from the Anthropology Department Collections
Terms
  • Perú
  • Ceramics
  • Moche
  • Redware
  • Fish
  • Animals
  • Lizards
Object number56.197
Label CopyThis stirrup-spout Moche vessel is painted with the figure of a spiny fish or crested lizard with human-like arms and legs holding a quero (outflaring cup). This bottle is made of redware, with smooth red slip painted over a rough-textured cream ground. This cream and red color combination is characteristic of Moche ceramics. Fish were a critical resource to the peoples of coastal Peru, providing protein to balance out the starchy carbohydrates from the maize-based agricultural portion of the diet.
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