Feline Vessel with Stirrup Spout

1100–1470

Ceramist unknown (Chimú)
Peru, likely north coast

Felines have been a prominent and recurring feature of ancient Andean art for millennia. Examples like this blackware vessel have been identified as representing pumas—the largest predator in this mountainous habitat. These fierce hunters became symbols of power within many societies. As numerous works in this gallery show, makers often portrayed authoritative human figures and divine beings with feline attributes like fangs, claws, and whiskers.

Status: On View, Gallery 136
Department: Arts of the Americas

Culture: Chimú
Title: Feline Vessel with Stirrup Spout
Place: Peru (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1100–1470
Medium: Ceramic
Dimensions: 25.7 × 24.9 cm (10 1/8 × 9 13/16 in.)
Credit Line: Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
Reference Number: 1955.2383
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/91671/manifest.json

Alan R. Sawyer, Animal Sculpture in Pre-Columbian Art, exh. cat. (Art Institute of Chicago, 1957), 36, no cat. no (ill.).

Art Institute of Chicago, Animal Sculpture in Pre-Columbian Art, Oct. 12, 1957–Feb. 2, 1958, no cat. no.

Eduard Gaffron (1861–1931), Lima, Peru, from 1892 to 1912, then Berlin, from 1912 [History of the Department report (Joanne Behrens, 1985) and correspondence in curatorial file]; by descent to his children Mercedes Gaffron (1908–1993), Berlin then Durham, NC, and Hans Gaffron (1902–1979), Berlin then Chicago [correspondence and documentation of the Gaffron Collection in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1955.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.