Nasca. <em>Double-Spout Vessel</em>, 325–440. Ceramic, pigments, 6 x 7 x 7 in. (15.2 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.15. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.224.15_side2_PS9.jpg)

Nasca. Double-Spout Vessel, 325–440. Ceramic, pigments, 6 x 7 x 7 in. (15.2 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.15. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.224.15_side2_PS9.jpg)

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What is the material process of making this? Was it hand built? Or done on a wheel?

This was used before wheels came into use. Designs were painted on vessels before firing. Pottery wheels were not used at this point, so most Nasca ceramic works were done by hand through building up coil walls, then smoothing, and sometimes applying a thin coat of soft clay slip to create a smooth surface for painting. Vessel surfaces were smooth and shiny as a result of the careful burnishing (a way of polishing by rubbing) in the late stages of drying.

Designs were painted on vessels before firing. Most Nasca ceramic works were done by hand through building up coil walls, then smoothing, and sometimes applying a thin coat of soft clay slip to create a smooth surface for painting. Vessel surfaces were smooth and shiny as a result of the careful burnishing (a way of polishing by rubbing) in the late stages of drying.

A common motif in Nasca art is the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being, or “masked god”, interpreted by scholars as a symbolic representation of deities residing in nature, The multicolored peppers symbolize the importance of crops, abundance and fertility as shown on body of the vessels.

Where did the pigments on these vessels come from?

Nasca artists used mineral based pigments to produce slip paints in a variety of colors including black, white, purple, yellow, gray, brown, violet, pink, and various shades of red and orange. Minerals, particularly iron oxides along with kaolin and carbon, were ground into a fine powder and mixed with fine clay in varying ratios to produce different color densities.

That's really cool. I found a book in France about pigments, it's really interesting!

I find it so interesting how since the beginning of humanity (as far as we know) people have been finding ways to add color to their world. It's a beautiful thing.

Yeah, and the funny thing is when there was a color used a lot in a century, it was not because of the fashion but because of the price of pigment or because of religion, like how the Catholics used to think that colors were created by God and nobody should mix colors to create new ones.

You're so right about color! I also think it's funny how vibrant blue throughout cultures and time is always a unique or rare or sought after color. In Renaissance and Medieval religious paintings, you had to pay extra to have more blue on the Virgin's clothing, for example, because lapis lazuli (the material used for blue) was rare and expensive and had to be imported. Also, in ancient Egypt there are many beautiful objects created out of 'faience,' a brilliant blue material.

I think it's because blue doesn't exist in the nature, I mean that you can't find it in plants.

Great point, it's much easier to get reds, browns, oranges, greens (literally, earth tones) from the earth! On the third floor of the Museum we have Renaissance paintings and our Egyptian collection where you can see examples of those blues.

Cool! I'll go check it out, thanks.

Double-Spout Vessel

Arts of the Americas

A common motif in Nasca art is the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being, or “masked god,” interpreted by scholars as a symbolic representation of the powerful spirits residing in nature. On the vessel seen here, the being is associated with agricultural fertility, as indicated by the many multicolored peppers depicted on its body. The figure holds two trophy heads in one hand and a club and some peppers in the other. Decapitation and the shedding of blood were associated with cultivation and the regeneration of plants. The figure is also shown wearing a hammered-gold mouth mask with snake imagery similar to the one displayed here. Snakes were linked to fertility and water cults.

CULTURE Nasca

MEDIUM Ceramic, pigments

Place Found: South Coast, Peru

DATES 325–440

PERIOD Early Intermediate Period

DIMENSIONS 6 x 7 x 7 in. (15.2 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 86.224.15

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Ceramic vessel with double-spout and bridge handle and decorated with two classic Nasca figures with orange mouth masks, light brown protruding tongues, and light brown forehead ornaments on a white background,. The upper part of each face is deep red. Each figure clutches a club in proper right hand, and two trophy heads in the proper left. Multicolored peppers in horizontal and vertical arrangements fill portions of the space. Condition: good; the spout and bridge handle are chipped and have been repaired; some flaking of pigment in these areas and across surface; and the number "718" is painted on the bottom. Label from "Life, Death, Transformation" Exhibition, 2013: A common motif in Nasca art is the Anthropomorphic Mythical Being, or “masked god”, interpreted by scholars as a symbolic representation of the powerful spirits residing in nature. On this vessel the Mythical Being is associated with agricultural fertility, as indicated by the many multicolored peppers depicted on its body. The figure holds a club and peppers in one hand and two trophy heads in the other.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Nasca. Double-Spout Vessel, 325–440. Ceramic, pigments, 6 x 7 x 7 in. (15.2 x 17.8 x 17.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.224.15. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 86.224.15_side2_PS9.jpg)

IMAGE profile, 86.224.15_side2_PS9.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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