Stirrup spout vessel

The jars, which were often elaborately figurative, would be cast from a mold, while the stirrup spout was built by hand and welded to the vessel with slip.

[2] In the river valleys of the North Coast of Peru, the Moche (moh’-chay) culture grew and flourished at around c. AD 100.

For nearly 600 years the Moche culture developed and expanded throughout the major river valleys in the dry coastal plains of Peru.

[3] The Moche built large monumental temples, vast irrigation canals and systems, and an impressive wealth of artwork and ceramics.

[4] Moche artwork provided an extremely varied account of activities done throughout the time, and important figures and resources.

Moche artwork included men, women, plants, gods and deities, and anthropomorphic figures engaging in activities such as hunting, fishing, combat, sexual acts, warfare, and ceremonial events.

These Fineline paintings have been given five different categories by researchers Christopher B. Donnan and Donna McClelland, including Vessel Forms, Daily Life, the Natural World, the Supernatural, and Narrative Themes.

Although these ceramics display a large range of sexual and erotic imagery and iconography, reproductive sex (penile penetration of the vagina) is rarely depicted.

These artifacts show practices such as androgyny (both male and female genitals), hermaphroditism, and sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis.

[16] Through the discovery of erotic ceramic ware in elite tombs, archaeologists have concluded that the Moche buried their high-ranking individuals with these sexual pots, as well as in some sacrificial rituals.

[18] The Moche's territory was exposed to drastic climate variations, super dry summers, and rainy winters.

However, occasional El Niño events disrupted this flow, either through exceptionally long droughts, or periods of devastating floods.

The canals supported urban centers, used to grow corn (maize), beans, and other crops,[21] and helped in periods of severe drought.

From these ceramic forms, such as Fineline painting on stirrup spout vessels, archeologists can begin to understand aspects of Moche daily life, mythology, and narrative myth.

Christopher B. Donnan and Donna McClelland have both worked throughout their careers to photograph and record Moche iconography of these vessels in their rolled-out forms.

From the identification of the iconography on this vessel, scholars are able to understand Moche activities such as warfare, human sacrifice, and ceremonial practices.