Bowl with Costumed Being

100 BCE–700 CE
Diameter: 12.8 x 17.7 cm (5 1/16 x 6 15/16 in.); Overall: 13 cm (5 1/8 in.)
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Location: 232 Andean

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Description

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.
Bowl with Costumed Being

Bowl with Costumed Being

100 BCE–700 CE

Peru, South Coast, Nasca

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