Moche pottery: wrestlers

This vase depicts wrestlers. The curious thing is, it seems the wrestling consisted in pulling each other´s hair.

Moche pottery: Zooantropomorphic fgures

The Crabman

Figure with an owl's mask

Moche pottery: Animals

A crab

Llamas fighting

A lizard

Recuay pottery

A bottle with the form of a pumpkin

A monkey and fruits

Three birds

More Recuay pottery

This double bottle depicts two Spondylus clams or "Mullu", as they were coomonly called. Spondylus clams have a pink shell which was used in jewellery for pectorals, bracelets ad other ornaments. However, they were apreciated not only for their beaut but also because of their sacred value: Spondylus clams live in warm waters, in Ecuador , an only appear in the northern coast of Peru during "El Niño" years, when the rains come and there are good crops. So, Spondylus were a symbol of fertility and abundance and that's why they became sacred.

Cupisnique bottles

Two owls

A feline

Inka pottery

A "kero " (wooden cup)

An "Urpu" or"Phuñuy" , also called (wrongly) "aryballos", for the similitude with the Greek vessel