Dublin Core
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Description
Blackwares were prominent in many Ancient Andean cultures, however, they were a particularly integral part of the Chimú culture. It is a rounded vessel with a large opening at the top, accompanied by two small handles. The opening features a lip that projects outwards and then cinches inwards. The handles on the vessel are sculptural; a rodent figure is modeled separately and then applied to the vessel, also called figure appliqué. The rodents face inwards on either side of the opening and are orientated upwards, with their tails protruding out and down the sides of the vessel. The monochromatic gray surface features burnishing in the lower half to achieve a shiny finish. In contrast, the rectangular panels are not burnished and maintain a dull finish.
The blackware style of pottery and the iconography present in these ceramics represent vital social, economic, and even political factors of the Chimú culture. However, they most often reflect the environment and the most abundant natural resources. Because the Chimú resided on the coast, they had a very strong connection to the sea, aquatic animals, and other maritime elements, which include clam shells, geometric patterns that represent waves, and references to seabirds and other coastal fauna in decorative ceramic elements (Florek 2020).
Four rectangular panels wrap around the surface of the jar containing intricate patterns. The panels are inset which allows the images to project slightly from the surface of the vessel. Each panel is identical, containing an image of a fish, all of which face the same direction. Each fish has two fins on top of its body and three fins under its belly and can be identified as paralonchurus peruanus. Surrounding the fish are small dots that project from the surface of the vessel but are contained to the rectangular panel in which the designs are inscribed. Both the fish on the sides of the vessel, and the rodents that serve as small handles feature large round eyes.
The fish iconography on this vessel is geometric, with a triangular head, serrated body, and wide, round eyes. Fish are most commonly depicted in this way with many zig-zags and bold shapes and lines, as seen on a vessel in a collection of the Museo Larco (Chimú Vessel, accession number ML037855) The manner in which the fish are depicted here is representative of what would have been kept inside of the pot (food).
Appliqué figures are not always directly related to the general iconography of the piece, however in this case, the rats are depicted as trying to get to the contents of the pot, because rats are attracted to food. These two components are representative of the relationship between abundance and scarcity, a very prominent theme in ancient Andean art, which are both brought about by El Niño events.
El Niño (ENSO - El Niño Southern Oscillation) events periodically disrupt the desert nature of the coast; they occur by oscillation of the climatic boundary between the cold Humboldt Current and the warm Equatorial Countercurrent (Květinová 2011). These major weather events cause mass extinction of species, destruction of civilizations, and would also bring about new species by encouraging migration. They would often produce an abundance of valuable species and resources, such as fish. However, El Niño events would also result in an increase of unfavorable species, such as rats. Both of these creatures are depicted in a specific way on this vessel; the pairing of the fish (to be interpreted as inside the pot) and the rats (to be interpreted as climbing onto the pot, trying to get to the food) together reflect how the resources provided by nature can so easily be taken away, a cause of disruption and upheaval in Chimú civilization.
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Květinová, Sylvie. “Material Culture as a Vehicle of Social - Political Organization: Chimú Pottery.” PhD diss., Charles University, 2011.
Florek, Stan. “Chimu Pottery and its meaning” Australian Museum: World Cultures Collections, June 26, 2020.
https://australian.museum/learn/cultures/international-collection/chimu-pottery-and-its-meaning/
Further Reading
Aland, Amanda. "Fishing economies and ethnic specialization under Inca rule," In The Oxford handbook of the Incas, edited by Sonia Alconini and R. Alan Covey (Oxford University Press, 2018), 255.
Lost Ruins of the Americas. “The Chimu Civilization: Masters of Adobe and Coastal Empire.” Accessed December 2, 2025. https://lostruinsoftheamericas.com/chimu/
Shimada, Izumi, and Ursel Wagner. “Technology and organization of black pottery production on the North Coast of Peru.” Boletín de Arqueología PUCP, no. 27 (2019): 133–56. https://doi.org/10.18800/boletindearqueologiapucp.201902.008
Smith, Brian. “Ancient civilization in Peru offers lessons on water stewardship” University of Florida: Liberal Arts and Sciences, June 27, 2024. https://news.clas.ufl.edu/water-lessons-peruvian-civilization/