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Stirrup-spout Lizard Bottle
Stirrup-spout Lizard Bottle

Stirrup-spout Lizard Bottle

Date100-500 AD
MediumCeramic
Dimensions7 1/4 x 4 inches (18.4 x 10.2 cm)
CultureMoche (Peru)
PeriodEarly Intermediate Period
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineDr. and Mrs. Milton Lurie Kramer Collection; Bequest of Helen Kroll Kramer
Terms
  • Perú
  • Ceramics
  • Ceramic
  • Animals
  • Lizards
  • Moche
Object number70.145
Label CopyThis unusual stirrup-spout Moche blackware vessel has decoration on sides of 8 panels divided by a raised ridge, each with a figure of a lizard in relief. Very finely made, thin-walled vessel has been broken and nicely repaired; a chip is missing from the spout. Alligators/crocodiles (lagartija) and lizards are phallic (fertility) symbols among modern indigenous Colombian groups. Similar-looking caymans are said to communicate through jaguars.
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