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		LAMBAYEQUE North Coast 900-1100 CE DOUBLE-BODIED POT NYMLAP MOTIF LMA 6636 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled, mold-pressed and slab-built Surface: Cream slip with fineline painting in red slip, post-fired painting in black Firing: Oxidizing
Lambayeque pottery is distinctive in both its coloring and its forms. Double-vessels, such as this one, are quite common, particularly ones with a pair of square bodies attached by a tubular bridge. The use of red highlights and, in particular, black fine-line decoration, are typical of the Middle Sicán style. The figure on the front of the vessel may be Nymlap, who the Lambayeque believed to be their original ancestor. According to oral histories, Nymlap arrived with his people by sea in balsa rafts and settled in the Lambayeque Valley.

		LAMBAYEQUE North Coast 900-1100 CE SPOUT-AND-BRIDGE POT OWLS LMA 7206 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Smoke blackened Firing: Semi-reduced
This vessel may have been mold-pressed. The lighter, more uneven surface indicates a process closer to that of the Moche macaw presented earlier.

		LAMBAYEQUE North Coast 900-1100 CE SPOUT-AND-BRIDGE POT LMA 7691 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Blackened and polished Firing: Semi-reduced
The Lambayeque continued to develop the process of reducing, blackening and polishing, and were able to achieve fairly consistent and dark surfaces. This technology would be perfected by the Chimu. The widely-splayed spouts connected by a flat bridge are characteristic of the pottery of this culture.

		CHIMU North Coast 1400 - 1450 CE STIRRUP POT BOUND DEER LMA 7232 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Smoke blackened and burnished Firing: Semi-reduced
Deer hunting was an important pastime in Peru. Hunting was a way of demonstrating the skills of a warrior. Even so, deer were often released in relatively small enclosures to make the “hunt” easier, and this activity soon took on a ritual meaning. The Chimú were expert at reducing blackwares. The surfaces are pure and lustrous. Another feature which distinguishes Chimú pottery from that of the earlier Moche is that it tends to be more angular. The stirrups have flattened sides, and a close look at the body and antlers of the deer reveals a very planar quality.

		CHIMU North Coast 1400 - 1450 CE DOUBLE-BODIED POT NYMLAP(?) LMA 7232 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Smoke blackened and burnished Firing: Semi-reduced
The double-bodied pot remained a common vessel type well into the Chimu period. Nymlap continued to be important but this may also be a priest or other important figure.

		CHIMU North Coast 1400 - 1450 CE DOUBLE-BODIED POT SURFACING SEAL LMA 15998 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Smoke blackened and burnished Firing: Semi-reduced
This curious pot seems to depict a seal surfacing. It is possible to blow into the spout and make a sound just like that of the animal!

		CHIMU North Coast 1400 - 1450 CE STIRRUP POT MUSICIAN LMA 1995.1 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Mold-pressed Surface: Smoke blackened and burnished Firing: Semi-reduced
This vessel is a great example of how abundant pots made from the same mold can be. The examples at left are from a private collection.