Hunchback with Vessel
Unknown Artist
1st–3rd century
Medium
Ceramic
Dimensions
H. 9 × W. 6 3/4 × D. 7 9/16 in. (22.9 × 17.1 × 19.2 cm)
Classification
Ceramics-Sculpture
Culture
Lagunillas
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The Andrall and Joanne Pearson Collection, 2005
Accession Number
2005.91.10
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas *Hunchback with Vessel is a captivating ceramic sculpture from the Lagillas culture of the 1st–3rd CE. This compact figurine, standing just 9 inches tall, depicts a male figure with a distinctive hunchback posture, cradling a vessel in his hands. Crafted from fired clay, its modest dimensions—9 × 6¾ × 7⁹/₁₆ inches—suggest it was a portable object, perhaps used in daily rituals or as a votive offering. The artwork exemplifies early ceramic techniques in the ancient Americas, where artisans hand-...