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Peruvian Earthenware

  • Image of "Stirrup spout jar, In the shape of Fox, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Mochica culture, 3rd - 6th century (Gift of Mr. Tokugawa Yorisada)"

    Stirrup spout jar, In the shape of Fox, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Mochica culture, 3rd - 6th century (Gift of Mr. Tokugawa Yorisada)

    Asian Gallery (Toyokan) Room 10
    January 27, 2009 (Tue) - April 26, 2009 (Sun)

    The Tokyo National Museum collection holds not only art, crafts and archaeological artifacts from Japan and other parts of Asia, but also items from Oceania, Europe, and the American continent. This particular thematic exhibition introduces earthenware from Peru, in South America. The majority of these items were donated to the museum from the Meiji period (1868-1912) to the early Showa period (1926-89), a time when research into cultures predating the Inca civilization had just begun.

    Stirrup spout jars, named after their forked spouts reminiscent of a stirrup shape, are among examples of earthenware vessels originating in the northern coastal region of Peru. This shape can be seen in the brightly colored pottery of the Mochica civilization, as well as in the gray-colored earthenware of the Chimu kingdom. The Chimu continued to produce vessels in this shape even after their conquest by the Incan empire, which spread across the region from the south. Often, earthenware from this region also features representations of wild animals, expressed through both shape and color, which illustrate its inhabitants' unchanging beliefs toward nature.

 Major works in this exhibition

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
Stirrup spout jar, In the shape of Fox, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Mochica culture, 3rd - 6th century (Gift of Mr. Tokugawa Yorisada)
Jar with two spouts, From the Southern Coast of Peru, 12th - 14th century (Gift of Mr. Mizutani Kazuo)
Stirrup spout jar, In the shape of Waterfowl, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Chimu culture, 12th - 14th century (Gift of Mr. Mizutani Kazuo)
Stirrup spout jar, With monkey face, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Chimu culture, 12th - 14th century (Gift of Mr. Felipe S.Mesa)
Jar in the shape of albarello, From the Northern Coast of Peru, Inca culture, 15th century (Gift of Mr. Felipe S. Mesa)
Exhibitions