Figurine
Arts of the Americas
This carved turquoise figurine of a man wearing a hat and tunic was likely a ritual offering used during a ceremony. Groupings of similar figurines have been excavated by archaeologists at the Wari provincial site of Pikillacta, near Cusco, as ceremonial offerings, perhaps related to fertility. Turquoise is not common in the Andes, and its scarcity may explain its preciousness and why it was used for these small devotional figurines.
MEDIUM
Turquoise
DATES
600–1000
DIMENSIONS
1 1/4 x 1/2 x 3/4 in. (3.2 x 1.3 x 1.9 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
86.224.106
CREDIT LINE
Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Small carved turquoise figurine with head that is proportionately large to the short, stocky body. Figurine wears a square hat. Face is carved naturalistically: eyes are large and slightly bulging; nose is broad and prominent; mouth is narrow. Most of body is covered by a tunic. Hands are carved in relief at sides.
Condition: good; part of proper right foot is missing, an old break that has worn smooth.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Wari. Figurine, 600–1000. Turquoise, 1 1/4 x 1/2 x 3/4 in. (3.2 x 1.3 x 1.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.106. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.224.106_bw_acetate.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 86.224.106_bw_acetate.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a
Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online
application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the
United States Library of Congress,
Cornell University,
Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and
Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our
blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact
copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and
we welcome any additional information you might have.