The Man with Feline, Bird and Serpent Features (Anthropomorphized)

Sala 2, Vitrina 12

Sculptural Viru Pitcher
Peruvian Northern Coast
Formative Epoch (1250 BC – 1 AD)
ML040402

This mythological figure, the union of feline-bird-serpent, adopts a human form. This joining of the powers of the three worlds creates an extremely powerful anthropomorphized being.

In the ancient cultures of Peru the supreme leaders held political, social and religious power. They adopted as their own the sacred symbols and they identified with the gods. They therefore assumed the character of an anthropomorphized feline with the features of a bird and serpent.