Container Depicting Warriors, Rulers, and Winged Beings with Trophy Heads
180 BCE–500 CE
Medium
Ceramic and pigment
Dimensions
127 × 114.3 × 114.3 cm (50 × 45 × 45 in.)
Classification
vessel
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
183073
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This monumental ceramic ceremonial drum or a storage container—its long crack was repaired in antiquity—displays scenes depicting military triumph. On the upper tier, composite supernatural creatures combine forms derived from predatory birds, felines, and fish, thereby manifesting the powers of the sky, earth, and sea. These otherworldly beings feast on human captives and trophy heads, emphasizing that the natural world is not only nurturing, but also dangerous. Nazca warriors also hold weapons...
About the Artist
Nasca
Nasca artists, active from approximately 100 BCE to 800 CE along the arid southern coast of Peru in the Rio Grande de Nazca and Ica Valleys, produced some of the most vibrant and technically innovative art of the ancient Americas. Their work emerged from the Paracas tradition, expanding on earlier resin-painted ceramics and complex textiles while introducing pre-fire slip painting in up to twelve ...