Moche portraits vessels offer an intimate look at the face of a vanished world. With startling detail, these superb pots depict the aristrocracy of Ancient Peru, the kings, nobles, priests and warriors who inhabited the upper echelons of power. Most probably modeled from life, these portraits may have served as tokens of favor, buried with the dead as a mark of the sitter's eternal respect. This striking example, shows a man in late middle age, with large ears, curved nose, and high cheekbones. His nose is pierced, as it no doubt was in life, though its golden ring has disappeared with time. We can never know for certain this man's name, or his position in life, but when we gaze upon his strong features, we feel we know him personally.