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Llama Vessel
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
It is not clear whether the llama's appearance in Moche art is explained by its importance as a sacrificial animal; as a source of meat, fertilizer, and wool; or as the Andes's only burden-bearing beast, as this vessel shows. It also may be important that llamas are natives of the mountains, where seasonal rains charge the rivers that flow down to the desert coast and make life possible.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineLlama Vessel, c. 200–550 CE. Peru, North Coast, Moche style. Earthenware with colored slips; overall: 17.8 x 13.2 x 23.1 cm (7 x 5 3/16 x 9 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1990.128
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