Double-Spout, Bridge-Handle Vessel
Arts of the Americas
The central motif on this vessel’s four sides is the Horrible Bird, an anthropomorphic bird of prey that is part human and probably a combination of condor and falcon, the most powerful creatures of the sky. This mythical being has a profile bird head with a white eye and an open, white-tipped beak clutching a human head. Its wings are outstretched as if in flight, and it has a trophy head between its human legs. Additional decoration includes intertwined snakes, lizards, birds, and San Pedro cacti, plants known for their hallucinogenic properties.
El motivo central en los cuatro lados de esta vasija es el Pájaro Horrible, un ave de rapiña antropomórfica que es parte humana y probablemente una combinación de cóndor y halcón, las criaturas más poderosas del cielo. Este ser mítico tiene un perfil de cabeza de pájaro con un ojo blanco y un pico abierto de punta blanca, que sostiene una cabeza humana. Sus alas están abiertas como si volara, y tiene una cabeza trofeo entre sus piernas humanas. Decoración adicional incluye serpientes entrelazadas, lagartijas, aves y cactus San Pedro, planta conocida por sus propiedades alucinógenas.
MEDIUM
Ceramic, pigments
DATES
325–440
PERIOD
Early Intermediate Period
DIMENSIONS
9 1/4 x 7 x 6 1/4 in. (23.5 x 17.8 x 15.9 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
41.423
CREDIT LINE
Henry L. Batterman Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Double-spout, bridge-handle vessel with a rounded base and four concave walls. The exterior of the vessel is decorated with elaborate painted images of the "horrible bird" figure displayed within a white oval on each side, surrounded by painted images of plants, snakes, lizards, stars/flowers, and birds. The top of the vessel is decorated with four modeled intertwined snakes surrounded by painted ones. The "horrible bird" is an anthropomorphic raptorial bird, probably a combination of condor and hawk, that represents two of the most powerful forces of the sky (see Donald Proulx, A Sourcebook of Nasca Ceramic Iconography, Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2006, pp.79-82). On this vessel it consists of a profile bird head at top with a open beak consuming a trophy head, a body surrounded by abstract feathers, and another trophy head between two human legs.
Condition: good.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Nasca. Double-Spout, Bridge-Handle Vessel, 325–440. Ceramic, pigments, 9 1/4 x 7 x 6 1/4 in. (23.5 x 17.8 x 15.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund, 41.423. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.423_side4_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE
profile, 41.423_side4_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2012
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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RECORD COMPLETENESS
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we welcome any additional information you might have.
What is the material process of making this? Was it hand built? Or done on a wheel?
This was used before wheels came into use. Designs were painted on vessels before firing. Pottery wheels were not used at this point, so most Nasca ceramic works were done by hand through building up coil walls, then smoothing, and sometimes applying a thin coat of soft clay slip to create a smooth surface for painting. Vessel surfaces were smooth and shiny as a result of the careful burnishing (a way of polishing by rubbing) in the late stages of drying.
Designs were painted on vessels before firing. Most Nasca ceramic works were done by hand through building up coil walls, then smoothing, and sometimes applying a thin coat of soft clay slip to create a smooth surface for painting. Vessel surfaces were smooth and shiny as a result of the careful burnishing (a way of polishing by rubbing) in the late stages of drying.
A common motif in Nasca art is the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being, or “masked god”, interpreted by scholars as a symbolic representation of deities residing in nature, The multicolored peppers symbolize the importance of crops, abundance and fertility as shown on body of the vessels.
