Music and dance in the underworld

Room 5, Vitrine 33

• In Moche art, scenes featuring activities in the underworld, as in the case of these vessels, tend to be depicted in relief.
• The band where the inhabitants of the underworld are shown is located in the middle of the vessel, surrounding it completely, as if a layer of clay had been removed from the surface of the vessel to reveal what is going on inside. In this way, the interior of the vessel mimics the underworld, where the dead dwell.
• Moche culture, Florescent Epoch (1 AD – 800 AD), ML002917, ML002932, ML002960.

RO0063

RO0063