Chimú Vessel with Bird Form Spout

The bird sits up front and looks ahead, while a small creature clings to the arch behind it.

This vessel with bird form spout is Chimú, from Chimor, now Northern Peru, dating from 900 – 1470 CE. It is pottery and blackware. Chimú potters are well known for burnished blackware, usually fired in a reduced atmosphere to give the clay its dark color. The vessel has a rounded, box-like body. A bird with a hooked beak and incised eyes sits at one end, wings folded and a looped tail at the side. Behind it, an arched handle joins a tall tubular spout, with a small animal figure perched at the junction. It is 7 inches wide and 6.75 high.

Built to pour, and in no hurry to stop watching.