Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Blackware Vessel
(Ancient Americas )
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.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, 1990, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.
Geographies
Peru (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 9 1/4 x W: 8 in. (23.5 x 20.3 cm)
Credit Line
Anonymous gift, 2009
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.
48.2859