Man and Llama Vessel
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This vessel may represent a shaman, or ritual specialist, taking a llama to be sacrificed to Pachamama (Mother Earth) or to the mountain spirits (apus). Such ceremonies occur today during the planting and harvesting of crops in order to encourage a fertile season. The shaman, shown in an elaborate headdress and finely woven tunic, holds an ornate panpipe, or antara, whose sound imitates the animal’s cries.
Esta vasija puede representar a un chamán, o especialista ritual, llevando a una llama a ser sacrificada a la Pachamama (Madre Tierra) o a los espíritus de la montaña (apus). Tales ceremonias ocurren actualmente durante la siembra y cosecha para promover una estación fértil. El chamán, llevando un tocado elaborado y túnica finamente tejida, sostiene una zampoña decorada, o antara, cuyo sonido imita el grito del animal.
Caption
Recuay. Man and Llama Vessel, 200 B.C.E.–600. Ceramic, pigment, 9 5/16 x 8 1/16 x 3 15/16 in. (23.7 x 20.5 x 10 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Leo E. Fleischman, 45.175.3. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 45.175.3_acetate_bw.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Man and Llama Vessel
Date
200 B.C.E.–600
Geography
Place made: Northern Highlands, Peru
Medium
Ceramic, pigment
Classification
Dimensions
9 5/16 x 8 1/16 x 3 15/16 in. (23.7 x 20.5 x 10 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Leo E. Fleischman
Accession Number
45.175.3
Rights
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.
Frequent Art Questions
Tell me more.
The Recuay culture produced ceramic and stone material culture between 200 B.C.E. and 600 C.E. The man, who may be a shaman, is shown wearing an elaborate headdress and holding a panpipe. Llamas had major significance in various Peruvian cultures as beasts of burden, and sources of wool, and meat. In this case, the shaman may be taking the llama to be sacrificed to the gods.
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