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Feline Vessel
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Feline Vessel

1–700 CE · ceramic, red and white slips, black pigment

From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

Recuay art is under-studied and it is difficult to know the meaning of the wonderfully stylized feline on whose head perches a small passenger that may be a coatimundi, a nosy, busy, racoon-like animal. Elsewhere in Recuay art, felines are shown as virile predators, making it likely that in general they were symbols of leadership. The feline is painted with white and red slips; after firing, a resist application of black pigment was used to create the dotted pattern.

Cleveland Museum of Art’s own description
Credit lineFeline Vessel, 1–700 CE. Central Andes, North Highlands, Recuay people. Ceramic, red and white slips, black pigment; overall: 20.3 x 10.1 x 15.2 cm (8 x 4 x 6 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Charlotte Ekker and Charlotte Van der Veer Memorial Fund, 2009.9
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