Chimú Standing Vessel with Feline Motif

A cat with a spiraling tail prowls across a field of tiny raised dots.

This standing vessel with feline motif is Chimú, from Chimor, now northern Peru, and dates to 900 to 1470 CE. It is pottery and blackware. Felines appear widely in Andean art and are often associated with power, and Chimú potters frequently pressed such designs into their vessels in molds. This flask has a flattened round body, a short neck and a strap handle at one side. A raised medallion on the face shows a feline with a curled tail, surrounded by a stippled ground. The surface is a mottled gray black. It is 7 inches wide, 4 deep and 9 high.

One cat, permanently on patrol.