The Nasca culture of the south coast of Peru dominated a large part of the region from about 100 BC to AD 700. They are well-known for their beautiful, elaborate textiles and their brilliant, colorful polychrome ceramics. However, they are most famous for the Nasca lines. These notorious lines in the desert portray enormous animals and other designs. In many cases, the desert drawings depict animals and demons similar to those represented on Nasca textiles and pottery.

I chose this artifact because it is a beautiful example of Nasca ceramic art. While contemporaneous Moche ceramic artists excelled in form and sculpture, the Nasca potters excelled in intricate painting and their use of colored slips. Also, I find the dualism represented on the bottle fascinating. The naturalistic, yet rigid, figure of a man painted with straight lines and angular shapes on the front contrasts with the fantastic curving and twisting image of a demon-head on the back.
– Ed Fleming, Curator of Archaeology