Vessel with Copulating Rats
Artist:
Unknown
Place made:Peru
General region:South America
Culture: Moche
Period: Pre-Columbian
Date: ca. A.D. 500
Medium: Earthenware with slip and paint
Dimensions:
h. 9 in. (22.9 cm); w. 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, anonymous donation
Object number: 2003.49.3
Provenance: with Thomas W. and Sara J. McKeon by 2003; by donation to the San Antonio Museum of Art, 2003
Label Text
The stirrup-spouted vessel was a common form among the Moche. Because of the narrow diameter of the spout, scholars have suggested that they were used for ritual rather than utilitarian purposes. This vessel, which depicts two mice copulating, also falls into another common Moche style - "sex pots." Such vessels and imagery are thought to be connected to fertility in the past, present, and future. Most vessels of this type have been recovered from burials of males and females, young and old. (Bernadette Cap, 2021)
On view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
