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© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
Vessel with Spondylus Shell Texture
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Michael McKelvey.
ClassificationsArt of the Americas

Vessel with Spondylus Shell Texture

AAT Object Form/FunctionStirrup-Spout Vessel
Place CreatedPeru, South America
CultureCupisnique
PeriodEarly Horizon
Date400-200 BCE
MediumCeramic
Credit LineGift of William C. and Carol W. Thibadeau
Dimensions8 11/16 x 4 1/4 in. (22.1 x 10.8 cm)
Object number1988.012.007
Label TextThe most common Central Andean ceramic vessel type has a "stirrup spout," a unique but practical feature. It pours well because air flows into one of the spouts as liquid passes through the other and out the top. The small opening limits evaporation, important in the parched Andes.

The Chavin, the first major style to dominate the Central Andes, had various expressions. The Cupisnique ceramic style favors detailed texture above as a contrast to the smooth planes of the vessel below. While these pots are commonly identified as images of fruits (such as the spiny chirimoya), they may instead represent the all-important Spondylus shell, or spiny oyster.
Exhibition HistoryPre-Columbian Art from the Collections of Paul A. Clifford and William C. Thibadeau, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, February 13 - April 4, 1971
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 13, 2002 - June 2012
'For I am the Black Jaguar': Shamanic Visionary Experience in Ancient American Art, Michael C. Carlos Museum, September 5, 2012 - January 5, 2013
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, February 9, 2013 - March 13, 2019
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, July 2, 2019 - Present
Published ReferencesPre-Columbian Art from the Collections of Paul A. Clifford and William C. Thibadeau (Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 1971), plate XXX.
Evelyn Ward Gay, "DeKalb County History Buff Doubles in Primitive Art," The Atlanta Journal (June 2, 1971): 19-B.
Rebecca Stone-Miller, Seeing With New Eyes: Highlights of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Collection of Art of the Ancient Americas (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2002), 222, figure 507.
ProvenanceEx coll. William (1920-2002) and Carol (1921-2019) Thibadeau, Atlanta, Georgia, purchased August 9, 1970.
Status
On view
Collections
  • Art of the Americas