Sculptural bottle with important figure of the elite

The Lambayeque culture developed on the northern Peruvian coast after the downfall of the Mochicas. Its society can be described as a complex but non-centralized state, conformed by dispersed ceremonial-administrative centers; its cultural cohesion was maintained through a common ideology and by the control exercised over the manufacture and distribution of ritual objects. Standing out amongst these, are the fine ceramic pieces characterized by their black or red tones, obtained by firing in reduction or oxidizing atmospheres. The emblematic form of this style is the black bottle with spout and lateral handle commonly known as “huaco rey” (king huaco), in allusion to the presence of a modeled head on the neck. The face –always seen from the front– shows almond shaped eyes, a closed crevice representing the mouth, and circular ornaments hang from the pointed ears. The image of this deity was made with a mold, a recurrent technique in Lambayeque pottery. (CM)