Chuquibamba Ofrenda - Votive Tablet with Camelid Herd Painted on Pottery Fragment

A herd of camelids, reduced to the shape of a comb, on a piece of broken pot.

This ofrenda, a votive tablet with a camelid herd painted on a pottery fragment, was made by the Chuquibamba culture of Chucu, Arequipa, Peru, in the 13th century, in earthenware and pigment. In the Andes, llamas and alpacas meant food, wool and transport, and such painted fragments are thought to have been offerings for the health of the herds. Rows of red, white and gray animals fill the brown surface, each a bar with many legs, among small dots and stick figures. 13.25 inches wide and 11.5 high.

Centuries on, the flock has stayed together.