Art of the Americas
Pre-Columbian Cup Cup, Pre-Columbian, South America, Sicán, Lambayeque: Batán Grande tombs, c. 850/1250 (Portland Art Museum)
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- I'm Amy, and I work in the education department
- And I am Anna and I am the curator of Native American Arts.
- And we're standing in the Meso-American
- and South American gallery.
- And we are looking at a gold vessel.
- Yes, this is actually from Peru,
- and the culture would be Secan
- and it is a gold vessel or beaker.
- Now Secan, I don't see that on any other pieces.
- Is this the only Secan piece we have?
- Yes this is the only one. It's related to other cultures within present-day Peru and along the
- west coast of South America.
- And gold work in particular was something that metalsmiths excelled in.
- So it's typical of cultures from that region
- It's sort of a large piece in comparison
- to some of the other vessels that I see in this gallery.
- I think its impressive size is due to the fact that it would have been used by a very impressive person.
- This would have been used by a high-ranking individual.
- There would have been other vessels
- made and used at the same time,
- but they would have been made
- out of different materials according
- to who they were made for.
- So-- Actually, yeah
- All over the gallery there's a
- lot of ceramic.
- Ceramic, and you would have also
- had wood beakers or drinking vessels
- That is its purpose, this is
- actually a vessel to be used in the
- consumption of Chicha or
- maize beer, or corn beer.
- Would that taste anything like beer today?
- I don't know.
- It's definitely, was an alcoholic,
- is an alcoholic beverage
- and was consumed on ceremonial occasions
- Perhaps a political event or occurrence
- Now, it's face-up at us,but
- it's actually upside-down--Yes--so
- that seems kind of strange.
- Yes, well, I think it's linked to the
- consumption of what would be inside of it.
- And you wouldn't be able to see
- the figure right-side-up until
- you were finished drinking what
- was inside the vessel.
- So there is even more motivation
- to get to the bottom? (Laughs)
- Well, and I think there's also a spiritual aspect
- to this being that's depicted in repuse
- on the surface of this.
- You see those two kind of stylized eyes
- and there's a mouth, perhaps with the tongue
- indicated sticking out through the teeth.
- Yes, actually that mouth is really
- interesting, it almost looks like it has fangs.
- It does! (Laughs) And then there are ears indicated,
- and the figure is also
- shown wearing adornment in the ears
- in the form of ear plugs or ear flares.
- So this was a particular deity?
- It's been referred to as the Secan lord,
- or Secan deity.
- It has like this, interesting three-tiered neck
- Is that to keep it standing, or...?
- It's probably just decorative,
- and also a little bit of the metalsmith
- kind of showing off their skills on how
- to work with the material.
- How did they work with the material?
- Well, this would have been possibly
- pounded over a form or a mold, but also
- would have been hand-worked as well.
- This particular gold is probably an alloy
- of gold and other materials, and we know
- that in part because of the coloration
- that appears on the surface. You
- can see the kind of a red color coming through.
- And when you say it could have been
- pounded over a mold,
- would that have been a mold made
- out of clay, or made out of wood?
- Probably wood, (Wood) and the metalsmiths
- enjoyed working with this alloy,
- because it made it a softer material
- and more easily workable than
- solid gold would be.
- Okay. And why-- how has this survived,
- because there was a lot of pillaging, right?
- Well, it's quite remarkable actually,
- that a piece of gold survived the Spanish,
- who came through and melted down, you
- know, hundreds of thousands of pounds
- of gold to finance their--
- Right, this is a large piece!
- Well, it probably survives because it
- would have most likely been buried
- with someone, as an accompaniment
- for the afterlife.
- So probably with its owner, this
- would have been one of the riches
- that not only did he have with him in,
- in his real life on Earth, but also in
- the afterlife and the spiritual world.
- And a thousand years later, here it is!
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At 5:31, how is the moon large enough to block the sun? Isn't the sun way larger?
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