Pot Item Number: 3256/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Elongated jar with rounded bottom. Pot in human form, with legs and arms rising slightly off surface of the body. Legs curve around front from sides, with small feet protruding. Arms are held at chest level, hands clutching a small vessel. Neck of jar is tall with straight sides, made into a face with large rounded ears, protruding nose and eyes, and a wide mouth. Small triangles emerge around the rim of the pot and a tiny round handle sits at back of neck. Pot is mainly unpainted but for chin, eyes and forehead which appear to have been dark brown at one time, and light staining suggesting colours on sides and back of head.

Narrative

Rosita Tovell's father was a collector of Peruvian pre-Columbian ceramics. Rosita moved to Peru in the early 1960s, while her husband served as ambassador to Peru and Bolivia. During this time Rosita began to study and collect pre-Columbian Peruvian ceramics and textiles.