Sculptural stirrup-spout bottle representing a feline

This stirrup bottle corresponds to the Classic or Middle Cupisnique style. The body of the vessel represents a feline with a wide open mouth aggressively baring fangs. The spots that characterize these animals have been recreated as fine lines of concentric circles on the surface of the piece. It was probably fired in a reduction atmosphere, showing two color tones ranging from dark gray and brown, and a polished finish. The representation of jaguars, ocelots and pumas is very common in Cupisnique stirrup bottles. These species are found in the equatorial dry forest eco-region. Their habitat is wide ranging, from the desert-like coast to the woody inland regions, but they breed in reduced areas like jagüeyes (wetlands), a habitat rich in flora and fauna. The jagüey, a permanent body of spring or ground water, was sacred to the Cupisnique, while felines played a leading and essential role in the culture’s complex shamanic structure system. In fact, the man-feline duality was the focus of the religious ideology of this society. (CE)