Bottle decorated with scenes of eagles and warrior owl

This black bottle is distinctive for presenting motives obtained by the use of pressed molds. This decorative technique appeared in Jequetepeque at the beginning of the Late Mochica period and towards the second half of the Middle Horizon, where it began to replace the fine line painting. Both sides of the vessel depict ornithomorphic characters with ancient Mochica warrior garments; one of them appears to be the pressed version of the Owl Warrior, a known night deity represented on fine line vessels. The base of the neck of the vessel is encircled by a type of ring, the lineal design appears to represent a cord, a detail that relates the vessels with a cord present in various scenes related to the storage of blood at ritual sacrifices. In a recurrent passage of mythical Mochica art, the Owl Warrior and the Moon Goddess supervise the capture of human beings for subsequent sacrifice. A piece of this type shows that part of the Mochica iconography prevailed until the end of the Middle Horizon, even surviving in the art of Lambayeque and Chimú. (JR)