Jaguar Head Kero
1600–1800
Medium
Wood and mopa-mopa resin
Dimensions
21.2 × 15.3 × 18.5 cm (8 3/8 × 6 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
wood
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
263126
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
During the Inca Empire, wooden kero drinking cups were only decorated with geometric designs. But after the Spanish invasion, the Inca royal court retreated to lower elevations in the Amazonian jungle, a place they called Vilcabamba. Likely in response to the introduction of European heraldry featuring lions and building on representations of felines by their Andean predecessors, Inca makers created new keros shaped like feline heads. Rather than depicting highland pumas, however, such keros are...
About the Artist
Inca
Inca artists, operating anonymously within the vast Inca Empire from approximately 1425 to 1532 CE, were masterful creators whose works symbolized imperial power and unity across the Andes. Thriving in the heart of Cuzco, the empire's capital, these skilled artisans—men and women alike—produced textiles, ceramics, and metalwork that served both practical and ceremonial purposes. Gifted craftspeopl...