Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art

About this Work

This beaker in the form of a human face comes from the Chimú culture of Peru, a culture known for its expert workmanship in both gold and silver. Made by hammering the silver over a, typically wooden, mold, similar vessels are also found among the art of the Inca Empire who conquered and incorporated the Chimú around the year 1470. In fact the Inca forced many Chimú artists working in gold and silver to continue working for the empire and even when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century they documented the continued use of this vessel form.

The face depicted here is topped with a headdress upon which a central human figure is flanked on either side by zoomorphic, bird-like creatures.