Cleveland Museum of Art

Hunchback Vessel (Aryballos)

Date

1470–1521 (Thermoluminescence date, 1315–1615)

Medium

ceramic

Culture

Central Andes (Peru), Chimú-Inka style, Late Horizon period

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This handsome vessel, along with the nearby double-chambered vessel, were made on the north coast after the Inka conquered the Chimú in the 1460s. Under Inka rule, many aspects of Chimú ceramic technology continued but new forms and subjects were introduced, such as the aryballos, a classic Inka vessel type. This example takes the form of a hunchback and may refer to the Inka predilection for employing hunchbacks as royal servants. Hunchbacks seem to have functioned as servants in Inka royal palaces.

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