#cupisnique

[dumbbitchhour]

Cupisnique, Peru, Stirrup Spout Vessel with Raised Appliques Covering the Surface, n.d. x

[vintage-treasures]

Whistle (Ocarina), Ceramic Musical Instrument (1200–500 BCE)

Forged by the Cupisnique culture of ancient Peru, this small ceramic ocarina (whistle) dates back over 3,000 years. It features a figure carrying a child with its mouth open. Used in ceremonies and festivals, the Ocarina has a hole for blowing and four smaller holes for modulating the tone. This tiny instrument embodies the importance of music and community in the ancient Andes, allowing the voice of the past to resonate today.

Loc. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Dim. 6 cm H x 3.8 cm W x 3.2 cm D (2 3/8 x 1 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.).

[artifacts-archive]

Acrobat Effigy Stirrup Spout Vessel

Cupisnique, Peru, 1200-500 BCE (Early Horizon-Early Intermediate)

This vessel, like several other known examples from the Cupisnique culture, shows an acrobat or contorsionist, in the midst of a backbend. In the acrobat’s hands are two mysterious objects, one perhaps a rattle or noisemaker. Therefore, the vessel’s general form may represent an ancient ritual whose significance is now lost.

[artifacts-archive]

Stirrup Vessel with Incised Designs

Cupisnique, Peru, 1200-500 BCE (Early Horizon-Early Intermediate)

This “stirrup-spout” vessel has been highly polished and incised with the face of a supernatural creature shown in profile. It seems to combine elements of some of ancient Peru’s fiercest predators, with an eye (at top) which is hooded like that of a crocodile, but the prominent fangs of a feline, probably a jaguar. Cupisnique ceramics frequently show jaguars and felines, which were symbols of power associated with rulers.

[artifacts-archive]

Stirrup-spout bottle with feline and snake

Cupisnique

1200–800 BCE

The juxtaposition of these two powerful creatures—the jaguar and the anaconda—suggests a potential struggle between two animals that certainly ruled their respective domains. Jaguars and anacondas are primarily found in the Peruvian jungle, a habitat relatively distant from the coastal communities where this vessel was made. Two San Pedro cacti were modeled on either side of the vessel, near a stepped motif surmounted by a curled element. The San Pedro plant has hallucinogenic properties; ritual participants who ingested the substance may have perceived themselves transforming into one of several powerful animals such as a jaguar, anaconda, or harpy eagle.

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[artifacts-archive]

Stirrup Spout Bottle: Monkey Head

Cupisnique (?)

12th–5th century BCE

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[artifacts-archive]

Stone tumbler

Cupisnique or Chavín

1200–500 BCE

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[artifacts-archive]

Bottle with leaf-nosed bat head

Cupisnique

1200–800 BCE

To drain the contents contained within the vessel, the centrally placed spout demands the bottle be turned almost completely upside down. The inversion of the figure’s head may have been an intentional, playful reference to the bat’s ability to sleep and eat upside down. When inverted, the vessel reveals a burnished bottom that mimics the finish on the creature’s eyes. Although this object may be the earliest example of bat iconography in the museum’s ancient Andean collection, the subject matter is present in later traditions from this area, notably in the Moche culture of Peru’s north coast.

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