Skip to Main Content

Sea Lion Pup Vessel

200–850 CE
ceramic and slip
Overall: 19.7 x 15.5 x 16 cm (7 3/4 x 6 1/8 x 6 5/16 in.)
Weight: 520 g (1.15 lbs.)
Gift of John and Agneta Solomon 2014.375
Location: 232 Andean
Public Domain
You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

Moche potters were skilled at producing charming images using only red and white slip.

Description

Sea lions commonly appear in Moche art as effigy vessels, like this appealing pup, or in complex scenes that often show them as the targets of human hunters. They may have been prized in part for the beach pebbles found in their stomachs; modern Peruvian folk healers consider such pebbles to have powerful medicinal qualities. Also, colonial-period natives believed that sea lions carried the dead to off-shore islands, an idea that could date to Moche times.
Sea Lion Pup Vessel

Sea Lion Pup Vessel

200–850 CE

Central Andes, North Coast, Moche people

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.