Nazca
Peru
Effigy vessel, 100 B.C.– A.D. 600
Ceramic, pigments
8 inches
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund, 42.61.9

Effigies of the heads of conquered enemies were included in the tombs of warriors as symbols of their prowess and success in battle. The ceramic effigies were created in different sculptural styles that demonstrate the aesthetic variety of individual areas of Nazca territory as well as the methods developed by workshops or individual artists. Each head is painted with the particular characteristics that distinguished an individual. This one shows a man wearing a moustache and small beard. He has a band of red painted across his eyes and nose and wears a turban decorated with a sling.