Camelid Conopa

Item number 36.683 from the Brooklyn Museum.

Public

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Description

Small black stone vessel (conopa) in the form of a llama with a hole in the animal's back forming a small bowl. Stylized head with round muzzle, small rounded ears, and short protruding tail. Legs are not shown. Condition: good.

Label

Small stone figurines, or conopas, of llamas and alpacas were the most common ritual effigies used in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia. These devotional objects were often buried in the animals’ corrals to bring protection and prosperity to their owners and fertility to the herds. The cylindrical cavities in their backs were filled with offerings to the gods in the form of a mixture including animal fat, coca leaves, maize kernels, and seashells.

Pequeñas figurillas de piedra, o conopas, de llamas y alpacas eran las efigies rituales más comunes usadas en el altiplano de Perú y Bolivia. Estos objetos devocionales eran con frecuencia enterrados en los corrales de los animales para atraer protección para sus dueños y fertilidad a los rebaños. Las cavidades cilíndricas en sus espaldas se llenaban con ofrendas a los dioses en forma de una mezcla de grasa animal, hojas de coca, granos de maíz y conchas.