Feline Stirrup-Spout Vessel

This ceramic stirrup-spout vessel (400 BC–200 AD) depicts a fierce feline, its open jaws and patterned body evoking power and supernatural force. For northern Peruvian societies, such animals symbolized strength, fertility, and shamanic transformation. The vessel’s form and painted surface reflect the technical mastery and symbolic richness of the Vicus and Virú cultures’ artisans.