Moche blackware janiform portrait stirrup vessel, primary view, Peru ca. 400–700 AD
Moche blackware janiform vessel, side view showing back-to-back heads
Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, opposite side view
Moche blackware janiform stirrup vessel, front three-quarter view with orejeras
Moche blackware janiform vessel, close view of naturalistic portrait head
Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, alternate side with stirrup handle
Moche blackware janiform vessel, top view showing arched handle and spout
Moche blackware janiform portrait stirrup vessel, primary view, Peru ca. 400–700 AD
Moche blackware janiform vessel, side view showing back-to-back heads
Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, opposite side view
Moche blackware janiform stirrup vessel, front three-quarter view with orejeras
Moche blackware janiform vessel, close view of naturalistic portrait head
Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, alternate side with stirrup handle
Moche blackware janiform vessel, top view showing arched handle and spout
Moche blackware janiform portrait stirrup vessel, primary view, Peru ca. 400–700 AD
Moche blackware janiform portrait stirrup vessel, primary view, Peru ca. 400–700 AD Moche blackware janiform vessel, side view showing back-to-back heads Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, opposite side view Moche blackware janiform stirrup vessel, front three-quarter view with orejeras Moche blackware janiform vessel, close view of naturalistic portrait head Moche blackware janiform portrait vessel, alternate side with stirrup handle Moche blackware janiform vessel, top view showing arched handle and spout

Moche Blackware Janiform Pottery Portrait Head Stirrup Vessel

17762

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Early Intermediate Period, circa 400 to 700 AD.

A fine reduction-fired blackware stirrup-spout vessel originating from the Moche (Mochica) culture of the northern coast of Peru. Measuring approximately 27 cm in height, the vessel features a janiform configuration depicting two back-to-back human faces, each rendered with naturalistic, serene facial expressions, prominent nose structures, almond-shaped eyes, and circular ear ornaments (orejeras) extending along the sides. A sweeping arched stirrup handle joins the top of both heads, terminating in a tall, upright vertical spout. Functionally, Moche portrait vessels and janiform stirrup bottles served dual roles as specialized ritual containers for liquid offerings during civic-religious ceremonies and as prestigious funerary grave goods (offrendas) placed within elite burials to represent status, duality, or ancestral lineage.

A comparable piece displaying Moche portraiture and stirrup-spout construction is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art under accession number 82.1.28 (Bottle with portrait head, Moche, 500–800 AD).

Size 10-5/8 inches (27cm) height.
Estate of Rael Gleitsman. MFA Ceramics RISD, Fall River MA 02720, Acquired 1980s.

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

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