Cleveland Museum of Art

Figure in a Litter

Date

500–900 (Thermoluminescence date, 590–1090)

Medium

earthenware with colored slips

Culture

Wari (Pachacamac) style, Middle Horizon, Epoch 2

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Whether a deity, ancestral mummy, or masked human, this figure signals power. The divided eyes and fangs are traits of supernatural beings. The hands are cupped around holes that once perhaps held staffs, symbols of human and divine authority. And the litter was a mode of travel reserved for those of high station; the knobs refer to poles that rested on the shoulders of human bearers.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.