Portrait Head Vessel
c. 200–550 CE
- Medium
- earthenware with colored slips
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 32 x 18.6 x 19.3 cm (12 5/8 x 7 5/16 x 7 5/8 in.)
- Culture
- Peru, North Coast, Moche style
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Art of the Americas
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
The Moche were unique in ancient Peru in creating realistic human portraits, usually in the form of ceramic vessels. In general, such vessels represent more than 750 individuals; identities are unclear but most are elite men, some probably rulers. The stirrup-shaped spout is a hallmark of Moche ceramic production.
