Pre-Columbian Chancay Effigy Jar

A round little man with a painted mustache holds a cup in both hands, ready for a toast.

This pre-Columbian Chancay effigy jar is Chancay, from Peru, and dates to 1000 – 1470 CE. It is terra cotta. The Chancay culture of the central Peruvian coast is known for its cream-slipped pottery painted in dark brown. The body is a full ovoid, with the face at the neck of the jar. Brown paint gives it ringed eyes, a mustache and a headband set with small modeled knobs. Painted arms wrap around to meet at a tiny modeled cup, with simple legs drawn below. It is 12.5 inches high and 7 in diameter.

Hospitality, in clay, for several hundred years running.