Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bottle

Inca artist

Date

1400–1532

Medium

Ceramic

Culture

Inca

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This bottle has two chambers in the form of stylized potatoes, a staple of the Andean diet for at least 8000 years. In Quechua, the language of the Inka, kawsay or food for all is the word for potato, referencing its essential function as a source of nourishment for the vast Inka Empire. Each chamber is topped with a spout; a bridge connects the two. When the bottle was tipped to force liquid back and forth between the chambers, an intentional whistling sound was produced. Inca, Peru, Americas

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