Moche Portrait Head Vessel, 200 CE - 400 CE
Terracotta
10.5
K.053
Further images
As in the very finest Moche art. This portrait captures both the likeness of the sitter and his personality. Judging by his helmet, this proud man is most likely a...
As in the very finest Moche art. This portrait captures both the likeness of the sitter and his personality. Judging by his helmet, this proud man is most likely a warrior, a member of the Ancient Peruvian elite. The artist has rendered the man's aquiline nose, his feline eyes, and his protruding ears with forceful accuracy, evoking his haughty aristocratic attitude as well. Across the gulf of centuries, we are intimately linked to this ancient life. We understand essential things about both the sitter and his world.