Bowl with Costumed Being
-100–700
- Medium
- earthenware with colored slips
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 12.8 x 17.7 cm (5 1/16 x 6 15/16 in.); Overall: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
- Genre
- Ceramics
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Styles
Tags
Peru, South Coast, Nasca
About
Supernatural figures like the one on this bowl are shown wearing ornaments that actually exist-like the nearby Mouth Mask-they may represent humans clothed as deities who served as living cult images during rituals. The figure holds a severed head that probably alludes to capture of an enemy’s life force, since severed heads and fertility are linked in Nasca art.