Feline – A kero (quero), a small cylindrical vessel depicting a figure known variously as the “underworld feline” or the “Nazca Cat Demon” in a repeated register around the body. Interestingly, the Nazca probably were not very familiar with wild cats – the only feline native to their homeland is the pampas cat, which in life is quite small. Pierce feline creatures in iconography may have come to the Nazca from contact with other Puruvian cultures. Size: 4.25″ W x 4.2″ H.
Snakes – A thin-walled pottery vessel, painted with an abstract textile-inspired pattern on interlocking snakes delineated in red and cream hues, the interior slip painted in red. Serpents were a fascinating element of Pre-Columbian iconography as snakes were thought to be beneficial sources of nourishment and at the same time were quite deadly with their poisonous venom. Also important to the indigenous was the fact that snakes shed their skin annually thus rejuvenating themselves and serving as symbols of renewal and good health. Size: 5.125″ W x 3.125″ H.
