Human-figure Drum
Unknown Nasca artist, South coast, Peru. Human-Figure Drum, 100 BCE–200 CE. Slip-painted ceramic, 16 ¾ inches. Denver Art Museum Collection: Funds from the Marion Hendrie estate, 1972.189.
Human-figure Drum
Proto-Nasca
About 100 B.C.–A.D. 200
Peru, south coast
Earthenware with colored slips
Funds from the Marion Hendrie Estate, 1972.189
Early Nasca decorative ceramics have incised design outlines filled in with colored slips applied before firing. The colors are limited: black, brown, tan, and cream. Forms include bottles modeled as birds, animals, fruits, and human beings. Ceramic drums are quite rare. An animal skin was stretched over the large mouth of the vessel, which would have been played in an inverted position. This drum’s simply modeled chamber portrays a masked ceremonialist wearing a headcloth with embroidered borders, and carrying a small baton and a wand with dangling elements. Later Nasca decorated pottery has painted rather than incised outlines and a much wider range of slip colors.
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