On view
Art of the Ancient Americas
Vessel with a bird on eggs,
1470–1532
Chimú - Inka
Late Horizon
2024-28
The Inka became a sprawling political empire in the late fourteenth century, rapidly growing through military and economic expansion to become the largest empire in the ancient Andes. Their vast territory stretched from the capital at Cuzco north into Ecuador and south into Chile, comprising more than twelve million subjects. This Inka-dominated area was called Tawantinsuyo (Land of Four Quarters), reflecting the basic four-part organization of Inka political geography. Conquest by the empire brought luxury goods to subject peoples. Those in power carefully controlled fine objects in order to maintain a discernible imperial style and impose a consistent vision of the state. Still, local deviations from the official Inka style resulted in subtle regional variations. The bird sitting on two eggs, for example, is a common theme in the art of Chimú culture, conquered by the Inka around 1470.
Information
Title
Vessel with a bird on eggs
Dates
1470–1532
Medium
Ceramic with polychrome slip-paint
Dimensions
20 × 9.9 × 18.3 cm (7 7/8 × 3 7/8 × 7 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, The Peter Jay Sharp, Class of 1952, Curatorship of the Art of the Ancient Americas
Object Number
2024-28
Place Made
South America, Peru, North coast
Period
Type
Materials
1966, Raúl Efrén Apesteguía Bresciani (1929-1996), Lima, sold to private collection, New York [1]; 2024, private collection sold to Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] According to private collection. The same owner lent the work to the 1969 exhibition “Precolumbian Art in New York Collections” at the Museum of Primitive Art, New York, confirming it was in the US by this date.
