Incised and Painted Container for Lime with Carved Stopper

Art Historical Context

This elegant container for lime, crafted by an Ica artist between 1000 and 1470, exemplifies the refined craftsmanship of Peru’s south coast during the Late Intermediate Period. Made from a carefully shaped gourd, the vessel features incised and painted decoration along with a carved stopper secured by leather and string. Its modest size—just under four inches tall—highlights the Ica people’s ability to transform everyday natural materials into objects of both utility and beauty. Lime containers like this one played a vital role in Andean life. Lime, derived from seashells or limestone, was chewed with coca leaves to release their stimulating and medicinal properties. The gourd’s portability and secure stopper made it ideal for daily or ritual use. The Ica culture, centered in the fertile Ica Valley, developed distinctive styles of surface decoration that often combined geometric patterns with symbolic motifs, reflecting both personal identity and broader cultural traditions. Today housed in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Arts of the Americas collection, the piece offers visitors a tangible connection to pre-Inca societies. Its survival demonstrates the durability of gourd as an artistic medium and the enduring importance of coca-related practices in Andean history.