Stirrup Spout Vessel

This “stirrup-spout” vessel shows a rich use of texture and color to create a beautiful and functional vessel. Much of the container’s body is created from an orange clay which has been repeatedly stippled or dotted with small holes, creating a rough texture which contrasts with the smoother areas of the vessel which have been painted with a thinned out solution of a red clay, known as slip. One side shows a figure-eight like figure with two protrusions, possibly a reference to the aguaje fruit. Other portions show a stepped pattern which may reference sacred mountains in the region.

The “stirrup spout” was one of the most common vessel forms in pre-Columbian Peru and the Andean area. A short spout at the top is attached to two tubes which join with the vessel itself. The form is reminiscent of a stirrup for horseback riding, hence the name. The resulting container was beautiful and versatile, since the main vessel could be shaped into many different forms, with a surface that was either carefully polished or highly textured. These vessels were also practical: in the extremely dry deserts of Peru, such a narrow opening prevented evaporation of the liquid held within. The complex shape of the neck also meant that it was easy to carry: two such vessels could be tied to the ends of a cord, to be slung over a person’s shoulder or a llama’s back. Large numbers of vessels like these have been found in burials of elites on the north Coast of Peru beginning about 1800 BCE.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Economos Works of Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, 1992, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.