Moche Ceramics Have Sculptural Vessels

Moche is fairly well defined temporally although its origins are less clear than its demise.

Moche ceramics have sculptural vessels. But moche ceramics vary widely in shape and theme with most important social activities documented in pottery including war metalwork weaving and sex. Reddish brown ceramic open top portrait vessel of a man wearing ear spools and a headdress with a puma head motif and two enormous front paws emerging from the sides. The use of mold technology is evident. Most of the moche ceramics have been recovered from the major archaeological sites of huaca de la luna huaca del sol and sipán shown respectively from left to right.

Moche figural vessel. This would have enabled the mass production of certain forms. While most portraits are three dimensional portrayals of human some have additional fineline paintings on their surface. For many years the foundation of moche chronology was a five phase ceramic temporal seriation of moche style vessels established by larco hoyle 1946 1948.

The production and the use of pottery during the inca civilization had two purposes utilitarian and ceremonial. Moche sexuality of the thousands of ceramic vessels that have been recovered at least 500 of them display sexually explicit imagery typically rendered as free standing three. Moche pottery is some of the most varied in the world. These phases were verified by archeological strata.

In moche religion and iconography birds of prey include falcons eagles condors vultures and owls. The vessels range from 6 45 cm in height with most being between 15 30 cm. However white on red and black paint is also found. Other times it is tridimensional forming the vessel shape itself 82 1 30.

Moche skilled ceramists produced a great variety of exquisitely decorated vessels. Traditional north coast peruvian ceramic art uses a limited pallet relying primarily on red and white fineline painting fully modeled clay veristic figures and stirrup sprouts. Peru moche portrait vessel of lord with a puma headdress. There are traces of spotted beige slip decoration on the ear spools and spots on the headdress.

Men gods animals plant and complex scenes were depicted by moche or mochica artists in the form of vessels decorated with sculptural images or brushwork. Many moche ceramics were made using molds and so we have many duplicate pieces. Early moche vessels are very sculptural depicting humans supernatural figures animals and plants in a great variety. Exact species and even historical individuals can be recognized in sculptural images depicted with a high degree of realism.

Ceremonial pottery also known as huaco was of the best quality material and the most elaborate it was made specifically for ceremonial purposes or rituals only such as in burial grounds containing drinks and food that the dead would need for its journey. The decoration is sometimes painted on the smooth surface of vessels 67 167 4.