Chimu Carved Wood Lime Container, 1100 CE - 1460 CE
Wood
5
PF.2334
The Chimu culture arose around 800 A.D. and flourished until the Incan conquest about six hundred years later. Their civilization was centered at their capital Chan Chan, about 300 miles...
The Chimu culture arose around 800 A.D. and flourished until the Incan conquest about six hundred years later. Their civilization was centered at their capital Chan Chan, about 300 miles north of Lima, literally meaning “Sun Sun,” the largest Pre-Columbian city in Peru estimated to contain almost one hundred thousand citizens. The Chimu believed the sea, which they called “Ni,” was the origin of life, a theory also proposed by modern science and evolution. Thanks to their sea-faring skills, the Chimu were able to survive, nestled in between the desert and the sea. The sea was everything to them: an endless supply of food and the source of inspiration for their most imaginative myths, legends, and artwork. Agriculture was also vital, and the Chimu drew up a vast number of irrigation works demonstrating immense engineering skill, some of which are still in use today. Today, aside from the astounding mud ruins of Chan Chan remarkably well preserved in the heat of the desert, the Chimú are perhaps best known for their distinctive black glazed pottery influenced by their predecessors: the Moche.
This stunning carved wood container exudes a dynamic energy and spirit that belies its small size. Used for storing powdered lime, the Indians dabbed the lime, which adhered to the wood want of the container onto coca leaves, the lime bringing out the mild narcotic effect of the coca. When chewed by the native highlanders, the coca leaves slowed their metabolic rate, helping to temper rigors of living at the over-12, 000 foot high altitudes of the Andes Mountains. Functional works of art such as this five evidence to the incredible creativity and craftsmanship that formed an integral part of Pre-Columbian Peru. Here the craftsman has artfully captured the stylized image of a lizard as he scampers up the side of the vessel, its tail wrapping around the container. Three amusing, curly-tailed monkeys sit in profile at the base of the container, their wide-eyed faces peering toward us with an amused expression. A stylized sea bird with extended beak forms the deftly carved wand portion of the lime container. Just as the monkeys' expressive faces gaze out at the world, so we gaze at this extraordinary work of art, appreciating the sensitive and skilled artistry that created it.
This stunning carved wood container exudes a dynamic energy and spirit that belies its small size. Used for storing powdered lime, the Indians dabbed the lime, which adhered to the wood want of the container onto coca leaves, the lime bringing out the mild narcotic effect of the coca. When chewed by the native highlanders, the coca leaves slowed their metabolic rate, helping to temper rigors of living at the over-12, 000 foot high altitudes of the Andes Mountains. Functional works of art such as this five evidence to the incredible creativity and craftsmanship that formed an integral part of Pre-Columbian Peru. Here the craftsman has artfully captured the stylized image of a lizard as he scampers up the side of the vessel, its tail wrapping around the container. Three amusing, curly-tailed monkeys sit in profile at the base of the container, their wide-eyed faces peering toward us with an amused expression. A stylized sea bird with extended beak forms the deftly carved wand portion of the lime container. Just as the monkeys' expressive faces gaze out at the world, so we gaze at this extraordinary work of art, appreciating the sensitive and skilled artistry that created it.