Drinking vessel ("Kero") with Jaguar Handle
(Ancient Americas )
"Keros" were conical drinking vessels used throughout the Inka empire for the ritual consumption of "chicha" (maize beer). While the elite drank from gold and silver vessels known as "aquillas," (such as the WAM's 2009.20.241 or 57.2307) local administrators exchanged wooden "keros." The jaguar-like creature clinging to this "kero's" rim may be a "katari," a fantastic animal combining feline and reptilian characteristics.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Mrs. John A. Stokes, Jr., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2003, by gift.
Exhibitions
2002-2010 | Art of the Ancient Americas. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Peru (Place of Origin)
Measurements
12 1/16 x 6 7/16 in. (30.6 x 16.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. John A. Stokes, Jr., 2003
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
61.345