Double-Spout-and-Bridge Vessel
Culture | Paracas |
---|---|
Title | Double-Spout-and-Bridge Vessel |
Date | 600–300 BCE |
Medium | Clay and pigment |
Dimensions | Object: 6 1/2 × 7 3/8 in. (16.5 × 18.7 cm) Overall: 6 1/2 × 7 3/8 in. (16.5 × 18.8 cm) |
Credit Line | Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Wardwell, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
Accession Number | 90.70 |
This artwork is currently on view. |

A stout, rounded vessel, tapering at the bottom to a small base, and a double spout and bridge at the top. The body of the vessel is decorated with inscribed geometric patterns and colored with white, grey, orange, and red pigment.
This vessel illustrates the historical preference of ceramicists from southern Peru for decorative two-dimensional surfaces which rely on line and color to create their images. The vessel also shows the post-fire resin paint that is a hallmark of Paracas ceramics. The paint originally was very smooth and shiny but also fragile, since exposure to heat or excess moisture would cause the paint to blister or deteriorate. The somewhat dull and powdery colors on many surviving Paracas ceramics, including this one, are a result of this sort of deterioration.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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"Double-Spout-and-Bridge Vessel | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=90.70