Chancay

Room 3, Vitrine 31

Ceramic
Peruvian Central Coast
Imperial Epoch (1300 AD – 1532 AD)
ML010422, ML010489, ML031547, ML031935, ML040404, ML040407.

Chancay pottery, with its unpolished surface, was usually white with geometric designs in black or brown.

The sculptures of men and women in a standing position with raised arms are known as “cuchimilcos”. These large figures were dressed with textiles and were usually placed in pairs in tombs.

This culture achieved a very high level of quality in its production of textiles. Gauzes and tapestries were used to wrap the dead laid to rest in Chancay tombs. Potters reproduced ritual scenes which accompanied the dead into the afterlife.