Description
This vessel shows a noblewoman, recognizeable by the use of pins at her shoulders to hold closed the tops of the sleeves of her dress. Andean woman wore dresses that were really wrapped sheets of cloth, with pins holding them closed. The richness of a woven pattern is hinted at in the patterns that can be seen at her waist. The woman’s noble identity is also hinted at by the large ear ornaments that she wears. While it is far from a portraitlike image, it would have been a fitting offering for the tomb of a noble lady.
The glossy surface of the vessel is created by burnishing the surface of the ceramic, that is, polishing with a stone, and by allowing smoke from the burning of wood to permeate ceramics in the kiln. Such shiny dark ceramics were highly prized by the Recuay people.
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