lifeafterlife

		NASCA - Phase 5 South Coast 125 - 250 CE JAR AGRICULTURISTS LMA 14055 Size: 17 cm tall, 10.5 cm diameter Manufacture: Modeled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
This simple vessel bears eight walking figures. They are ‘agriculturists’, a name given to figures that seem to have no mythical or ritual significance. They are usually shown carrying digging sticks, and wear sashes that hang down in back. The shape of this vessel is typical of Phase 5, but it lacks the wide variety of slip colors found in the more elaborate Nasca vessels. Instead, only two colors are applied to a kaolin slipped ground. Along with the next two examples in the exhibition, its simplicity demonstrates the range of pottery produced during the Phase 5 of Nasca culture.

		NASCA - Phase 5 South Coast 125 - 250 CE JAR BIRD MOTIF LMA 8890 Size: 17 cm tall, 11 cm diameter Manufacture: Modeled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
The use of repeated small motifs arranged in bands around tall vessels was quite common during the middle and late phases of the Nasca culture. Such vessels were simpler to make, yet they had the multitude of colors that appealed to the Nasca. One suspects that such vessels served the middle classes in the afterlife, while the more sophisticated vessels decorated with mythical beings served the elite. Although it appears that the colors were painted after the vessel was fired, these are in fact slips containing minerals which, when oxidized, took on a bright coloration.

		NASCA - Phase 5 South Coast 125 - 250 CE PAN FLUTE SNAKE MOTIF LMA 7238 Size: cm tall Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
The pan flute even today is associated with Peru, and this early example provides a striking example of what can be achieved in ceramics. The double-headed snake spirals around the flute, executed in the same bright slips so typical of the Nasca.

		NASCA - Phase 5 South Coast 125 - 250 CE JAR MALE HEAD MOTIF LMA 6666 Size: cm tall, cm diameter Manufacture: ModelLed Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
This vessel form is also quite common with the Nasca. Are those trophy heads in the third band, or simply a repetition of the general form of the vessel?

		NASCA - Phase 5/6 South Coast 125 - 540 CE BOWL TROPHY HEAD MOTIF LMA 7235 Size: 8.5 high, 18.5 cm diameter Manufacture: Modelled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
The decoration of this vessel seems to be transitional between Nasca Phase 5 and Phase 6. This line drawing technique came into fashion at this time, and would lead to the more spindly figures on polychrome vessels in Phase 6. The bowl shows no signs of wear, indicating that it was made specifically for burial or funerary ritual. The figures on the interior may be trophy heads, while those on the exterior might relate to deities. These figures were not applied after firing, but were painted with a slip which was applied after the bowl was dried and before firing.

		NASCA - Phase 6 South Coast 250 - 540 CE EFFIGY POT WARRIOR MOTIF LMA 6645 Size: 20 cm tall, 14 cm diameter Manufacture: Modeled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
The use of “head and spout” bottles was not unusual in early Peru. An example from the Recuay culture can be seen nearby. This vessel type does not occur until late in the Nasca tradition. The clearest indication that this vessel is from Phase 6 of the Nasca is the way that the animal figures are drawn. The full-bodied masks of Phases 3 and 4 have disappeared, and the masks on the sash of this figure now have a spider-like quality. These spindly tentacles ending in little spirals are characteristic of Phase 6.

		NASCA - Phase 6 South Coast 250 - 540 CE EFFIGY POT SEA SLUG(?) LMA 7175 Size: cm long Manufacture: ModeLled Surface: Slip painted Firing: Oxidizing
The spider-like motifs on this vessel identify it as coming from Phase 6.