An exhibited Chimu-Inca Double Bird Effigy Vessel, Late Intermediate Period - Late Horizon, ca. 1100 - 1500 CE

A striking blackware stirrup-spout vessel featuring the conjoined effigies of two long-billed water birds, likely shorebirds or cormorants, rendered in a dynamic and naturalistic pose. One bird is shown preening the neck of the other, while the second turns its head back across its body. Both figures are sculpted with tight wings, bulbous eyes, and prominent beaks, each anchoring one end of the stirrup spout that rises centrally. The vessel rests on a flared foot and exhibits the characteristic lustrous surface typical of Chimú ceramics, achieved through post-firing burnishing.

This type of vessel not only served as a utilitarian or ceremonial container but also reflected the Chimú-Inca emphasis on marine and avian life, symbolically tied to coastal ecology and religious cosmology. The conjoined birds suggest themes of duality, harmony, and interrelation—recurring motifs in Andean visual culture.

Exhibited: Ancient Forms For The Modern Eye, Colnaghi Gallery, NYC, April 17th - July 20, 2018. 

Medium: Clay

Dimensions: 8 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 5 3/8 inches (21.6 x 14.6 x 13.7 cm)

Condition: Spout reattached at the stirrup junction; otherwise intact and in excellent condition, with well-preserved surfaces and minor mineral deposits.

Provenance: Private East Coast collection, acquired April 6, 1989, from Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, NYC. Ex. Rafael Gutierrez was acquired in the 1970s.