Stirrup-spout bottle with fruits
Between 1200 and 500 BCE, a religious tradition known today as Cupisnique or Chavín left its mark in the visual arts of the North Coast and highlands of Peru. While some works combined features of felines, raptorial birds, and reptiles, others were non-figurative, more abstracted, or represented other facets of life. Aspects of this striking style, such as the stirrup-spout—a form adopted from even earlier traditions of Ecuador—would endure for centuries, ending only in the sixteenth century with the Spanish occupation.
Cupisnique artists preferred a muted palette, usually the color of the fired clay itself, but they often tried to recreate tactile experiences in their ceramic sculptures. This bottle, for example, was inspired by the globose fruits of the lúcuma (Pouteria lucuma), a tree that thrives in the dry environs of the Peruvian coastal and highland valleys. The golden colored flesh of the lúcuma has a flavor described as resembling butterscotch, maple syrup, or sweet potatoes. Lúcumas are still eaten and used for flavoring in Peru and dried and frozen lúcuma preparations are available in specialty markets in the U.S. The composition of this bottle, featuring multiple fruits with their spiky ends bulging out, was likely inspired by how these fruits look when carried inside a mesh bag.
Hugo C. Ikehara-Tsukayama, Senior Research Associate, Arts of the Ancient Americas, 2023
References and Further Reading
Burger, Richard L. Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, pp. 90-99.
Burtenshaw-Zumstein, Julia T. Cupisnique, Tembladera, Chongoyape, Chavín? A Typology of Ceramic Styles from Formative Period Northern Peru, 1800-200 BC. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Norwich: University of East Anglia, 2014.
Elera, Carlos. "El complejo cultural Cupisnique: Antecedentes y desarrollo de su Ideología religiosa." Senri Ethnological Studies, No. 37 (1993), pp. 229-57.
Fux, Peter. Chavin: Peru’s Enigmatic Temple in the Andes. Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 2013.
Ikehara-Tsukayama, Hugo C. The Cupisnique-Chavín Religious Tradition in the Andes. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.448
Lapiner, Alan C. Pre-Columbian Art of South America. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1976, p. 59.
Cupisnique artists preferred a muted palette, usually the color of the fired clay itself, but they often tried to recreate tactile experiences in their ceramic sculptures. This bottle, for example, was inspired by the globose fruits of the lúcuma (Pouteria lucuma), a tree that thrives in the dry environs of the Peruvian coastal and highland valleys. The golden colored flesh of the lúcuma has a flavor described as resembling butterscotch, maple syrup, or sweet potatoes. Lúcumas are still eaten and used for flavoring in Peru and dried and frozen lúcuma preparations are available in specialty markets in the U.S. The composition of this bottle, featuring multiple fruits with their spiky ends bulging out, was likely inspired by how these fruits look when carried inside a mesh bag.
Hugo C. Ikehara-Tsukayama, Senior Research Associate, Arts of the Ancient Americas, 2023
References and Further Reading
Burger, Richard L. Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization. London: Thames and Hudson, 1992, pp. 90-99.
Burtenshaw-Zumstein, Julia T. Cupisnique, Tembladera, Chongoyape, Chavín? A Typology of Ceramic Styles from Formative Period Northern Peru, 1800-200 BC. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Norwich: University of East Anglia, 2014.
Elera, Carlos. "El complejo cultural Cupisnique: Antecedentes y desarrollo de su Ideología religiosa." Senri Ethnological Studies, No. 37 (1993), pp. 229-57.
Fux, Peter. Chavin: Peru’s Enigmatic Temple in the Andes. Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess, 2013.
Ikehara-Tsukayama, Hugo C. The Cupisnique-Chavín Religious Tradition in the Andes. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190854584.013.448
Lapiner, Alan C. Pre-Columbian Art of South America. New York: H. N. Abrams, 1976, p. 59.
Artwork Details
- Title: Stirrup-spout bottle with fruits
- Artist: Cupisnique artist(s)
- Date: 1200–800 BCE
- Geography: Peru, North Coast
- Culture: Cupisnique
- Medium: Ceramic
- Dimensions: H. 11 3/8 × Diam. 9 1/4 in. (28.9 × 23.5 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics-Containers
- Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1967
- Object Number: 1978.412.205
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Cupisnique artist(s)
800–550 BCE
Cupisnique artist(s)
1200–500 BCE
Cupisnique artist(s)
1200–500 BCE
Cupisnique artist(s)
1200–500 BCE
Cupisnique artist(s)
1200–500 BCE
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.