Vicús

Room 2, Vitrine 14

Ceramic bottle
Peruvian Northern Coast
Formative Epoch (1250 BC – 1 AD)
ML031834

The Vicús culture developed in the department of Piura in the far north of Peru. This region functioned as a cultural frontier between the areas now occupied by Ecuador and Peru, and the artistic characteristics of both regions can be seen in Vicús art.

Ceramics were decorated using both the negative and positive painting techniques. The individuals represented have so-called “coffee bean eyes”. This double-chambered sculptural vessel decorated with the negative painting technique represents a nude male with a painted body. He is wearing a metal crown with flaps like the one that can be seen in the Gold Room of the Larco Museum. He is also wearing very large ear plugs – an indication of high rank – and a necklace made from beads shaped like human faces.