Vessel with Oculate Being
Unknown Artist
300 BCE–1 CE
Medium
earthenware with resin-based paint
Dimensions
h. 40.8 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund
Accession Number
1998.70
About this artwork
A supernatural creature known today as the Oculate Being, after its huge eyes, became prominent late in Paracas times. The Paracas left no written records and this creature's meaning is poorly apprehended, but it clutches a severed human head by the hair. A hint of the head's significance comes from the Oculate Being itself, whose head sprouts streamers that may represent abstract energy or force. The severed head cult, then, may have aimed at capturing and redirecting this energy. (Other Paraca...