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Representation of the male genital organs

Room E2, Vitrine E42


Ceramic
Vicús, Nasca
Costa del Perú
1250 a.C. – 800 d.C.
ML004415, ML004428, ML004432, ML004433

These pottery bottles, produced by several pre-Columbian peoples, were more than mere vessels: they were in fact hollow sculptures design to contain air and water and other liquids, so that in the act of pouring the inner and exterior worlds would be connected.

These objects were used in a variety of activities and ceremonies, including agricultural rituals, funerary rites, festivities, dances and processions, and gatherings during which food and drink were prepared and shared.

The design of the spout of the vessel in the form of a penis would have served to symbolically communicate its inseminating function, probably in relation to fertilization of the earth.