As funerary effigies, pots like this have been discovered in abundance in Chancay tombs, with many placed in a single grave. A substantial number of these grave goods are chipped and cracked, since they were roughly made and consequently were not particularly strong.¹ Typical of the colour variations on these effigies, one sports a white body with a black head and hands, the other the reverse. Some stand on carefully delineated legs and feet, others have bulbous bases with a mere suggestion of legs and feet in the moulding on the lower sides. Those with rounded bases were set upright by being pressed into sand, their tiny protruding legs level with the ground so they appeared to be standing. The minimal decoration on the face and headdress, and the occasional addition of a simple belt or other item of apparel, were applied with white and black-brown slips. In the case of the round-bottomed vessel, two white circles decorate each shoulder. These are counterweights and were used to balance heavy goods that were attached with twine to the back.²

The figures stare out wide-eyed, usually with both arms raised. Like their Chimú neighbours, the Chancay used two-part moulds in the production of their pottery. There is evidence of stamping to create details. Made from terracotta with two coloured slips, the figures were fired but never burnished or polished, hence retaining a powdery matte finish.

Simeran Maxwell

1. Christopher B. Donnan, Ceramics of ancient Peru, Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History 1992, pp. 98–99.

2. Elizabeth P. Benson and William J. Conklin, Museums of the Andes, Tokyo: Newsweek 1981, p. 118.

As funerary effigies, pots like this have been discovered in abundance in Chancay tombs, with many placed in a single grave. A substantial number of these grave goods are chipped and cracked, since they were roughly made and consequently were not particularly strong.¹ Typical of the colour variations on these effigies, one sports a white body with a black head and hands, the other the reverse. Some stand on carefully delineated legs and feet, others have bulbous bases with a mere suggestion of legs and feet in the moulding on the lower sides. Those with rounded bases were set upright by being pressed into sand, their tiny protruding legs level with the ground so they appeared to be standing. The minimal decoration on the face and headdress, and the occasional addition of a simple belt or other item of apparel, were applied with white and black-brown slips. In the case of the round-bottomed vessel, two white circles decorate each shoulder. These are counterweights and were used to balance heavy goods that were attached with twine to the back.²

The figures stare out wide-eyed, usually with both arms raised. Like their Chimú neighbours, the Chancay used two-part moulds in the production of their pottery. There is evidence of stamping to create details. Made from terracotta with two coloured slips, the figures were fired but never burnished or polished, hence retaining a powdery matte finish.

Simeran Maxwell

1. Christopher B. Donnan, Ceramics of ancient Peru, Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History 1992, pp. 98–99.

2. Elizabeth P. Benson and William J. Conklin, Museums of the Andes, Tokyo: Newsweek 1981, p. 118.