About the Item

A Pre-Columbian Lambayeque-Chimu culture double spout vessel, dating to 700–1200 AD. This footed vessel has three sharply divided sections; a ring base, body with a sharp ridge at the shoulder and two long, tapered spouts with an arched bridge handle. Beautiful painted decoration covers the majority of the tan slip. At first glance this exuberant vessel might appear to be decorated with simple scenes from the natural world. Yet look closer and it is in fact telling a story of the supernatural, a tale of immortality that was popular long before the Spanish arrived on the shores of South America. A story passed down through countless generations, it shows the legend of Naymlap, the fearless founder of a centuries old dynasty that ruled the Lambayeque Valley. Naymlap was a mysterious lord who arrived from the north with a vast fleet of totora rafts carrying a huge entourage that included his chief wife, his personal guard of forty warriors and an embroider of his feathered shirts. Having come to shore at the mouth of a great river, the group walked inland and founded a settlement which came to dominate the surrounding lands. Throughout his long reign, the people enjoyed peace and prosperity. So popular was Naymlap that when his death finally came, it was kept secret by his attendants who feared the repercussions and they buried him in the same room where he had lived. To explain his mysterious disappearance, they claimed the revered old man had evaded death by learning to fly and gliding up to the heavens for an immortal existence. This theme is encapsulated in on the vessel, we see Naymlap riding atop the crest of a rainbow symbolizing ritual flight and flanked by two attendants. He wears the crown and projecting ear ornamentation one associates with Lambayeque nobility. Meanwhile the row of birds running along the shoulder is likely an allegory of the hero’s flight into heaven. This remarkable artifact shows not only the story of Naymlap, but how pre literate societies used the visual arts to communicate their myths, legends and very identity. Published: Full page illustration and description in, Art of The Andes from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. 1983. p 204. Copies of the relevant pages from this publication are available to the new owner upon request. Provenance: Ex. collection of Arthur M Sackler, 1913-1987. Sackler was one of the pre-eminent collectors of the 20th Century, as well as being a major philanthropist and patron of the arts. His world-renowned collection was rich in Far Eastern, Byzantine, Greek, Egyptian and Near Eastern art and antiquities, small portions of which have been sold over the past 10 years. Sackler established a plethora of institutions which bear his name, including the Sackler Institute of Graduate Biomedical Science, the Sackler School of Medicine, the Arthur M. Sackler Science Center and, of course, the Arthur M. Sackler Museum. A rare opportunity to acquire an artifact from one of the key art collections of the 20th century.

Dimensions:
Height: 7 in (17.78 cm)Diameter: 8 in (20.32 cm)
Place of Origin:
Peru
Period:
18th Century and Earlier
Date of Manufacture:
700-1200 AD
Condition:
Right spout reattached.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU105221270374