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Zoomorphic Effigy Bottle (Colonial, Late 16th Century A.D.)

A Special Exhibition Image Gallery by Stan Parchin

From Shelley Esaak, About.com

10 of 10

Image © Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University; Used with permission

Zoomorphic Effigy Bottle (Colonial, Late 16th Century A.D.). Ollantaytambo, Cuzco. Ceramic. H. 7.3 in. (18.5 cm), Max. D. 8.9 in. (22.5 cm).

© Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University
Created in the Central Andes after the Spanish Conquest of Peru (1532) led by Francisco Pizarro (ca. 1475-1541), this brown vessel is in the shape of a four-legged supernatural entity, perhaps a dragon. Incisions on the surface of the seated creature's broad chest give the object texture. Hind legs terminating in what may be cloven hooves appear in low-relief along the left and right sides of the animal's slender and elongated body.

About the show:

Yale University's Peabody Museum of Natural History once again exhibits Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas through August 27, 2006. More than 200 ceramic, bone, metal, stone, textile and wooden works of art and artifacts describe the culture of the Inca at Machu Picchu during the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. In the show's catalogue, curators Richard L. Burger and Lucy C. Salazar, supported by a superb team of scholars, demonstrate convincingly that the site functioned as a royal estate and summer retreat for the Inca elite from the empire's capital, Cuzco. Indeed, it was probably occupied for less than 100 years.

"Machu Picchu: Unveiling the Mystery of the Incas" is on view from September 11, 2005 through August 27, 2006 at the Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, 170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8118 (Telephone: 203-432-5050; Website). The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday from 12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM. Admission to the museum is $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for senior citizens and $5.00 for children 3 to 18 years of age.

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From your Guide: Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, is a specialist in ancient, late-medieval and Renaissance art and history, and a regular contributor to About Art History. You may read all of his Special Exhibition and Catalogue Reviews here.

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