Dublin Core
Title
Nasca double spout and bridge with a feline and sun bursts
Description
This double-spout-and-bridge vessel is an extremely common form in Nasca ceramics. It is round and bulbous, narrower towards the top, and wider towards the bottom. It is topped with two straight, cylindrical spouts pointed vertically. An arched handle connects the two spouts in the middle. The spouts and handle are a red brick color, and the body of the vessel is a light sand color. The surface of the vessel appears smooth with a burnished shine. It contains spotted cat iconography, painted in polychrome earth tones, and is divided into two registers.
The larger, primary register depicts two spotted feline forms resembling the pampas cat. The cats are outlined in dark brown, and filled in with grey, sand, and red brick colors. The cat’s eyes are round and the pupils are completely surrounded by white, giving the cat a stunned expression. There is no sense of light or shadows, rendering the imagery two-dimensional. In the smaller bottom register, separated from the top by a bold dark brown line, an abstract, geometric motif is repeated four times in dark brown and red brick colors. These motifs may depict half-suns, or perhaps the dividing line is meant to represent a ground line, and the motifs are a sort of crop. While the pampas cat figures contain biomorphic shapes, the rays of the motif are triangles, and its centers are composed of concentric arches. The arches in the motifs are alternating red brick and dark brown with the sand background showing in between.
Creator
Nasca
Date
Early Intermediate Period (200 BCE-600 CE)
Coverage
Peru--South Coast
Type
Three dimensional object
Ceramic
Format
16.5 (h) cm.
6.5 (h) in.
Identifier
1608-255
Relation
Jack Danciger Collection
Source
Art and Art History Collection (AAHC), College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas at Austin
Rights
If you would like to publish this image in print or electronically, please contact the Curator of the Art & Art History Collection, Dr. Astrid Runggaldier, at astrid@austin.utexas.edu.