Stirrup Spout Vessel with Phallus
Moche Civilization; Pre-Columbian
Northern Coast, Peru
100-450 C.E.
Buff Earthenware Pottery
10 3/4 in.; 27.305 cm
Anonymous gift
AC 1977.13
This earthenware pottery is a Moche stirrup
spout vessel—most notable for its iconography of male
genitalia placed over the top. It is buff in color with no
decoration save a red and cream design on the penis
tip. The Moche people inhabited the coastal plain area
of modern day Peru, and this vessel was likely created
by the Moche in the Southern region. According to
archaeologist Rafael Larco, who first categorized Moche pottery into a five-phase sequence, this
vessel belongs to the Moche IV period, characterized by its straight-sided top spout.
Stirrup spout vessels have provided archaeologists with much insight into Moche society
by conveying important aspects of their culture such as social hierarchy, themes of sexuality,
and even depictions of ceremonies such as human torture and sacrifices. Spirituality was a
deeply engrained force in Moche life and art, and these vessels were intended for religious
ceremonies—not everyday use. As they have been almost exclusively found in burial sites, it has
been concluded that these vessels were often commissioned by higher level officials to be used
as funerary objects. In fact, some very striking examples took the form of portrait heads or fullbodied figures engaging in activities, some of which have been identified as portraits of specific
elite individuals. This particular vessel was most likely a mid- to lower-ranked person, as it does
not have an intricately molded form or very detailed painted decoration on its main section.
The common recurrence of sexual scenes and objects on vessels bears special
significance. A vast number of vessels portray phalluses (in fact, in a few the phallus actually
serves as a spout) and/or a heterosexual act of anal intercourse. Although it has been somewhat
of a struggle for Western archaeologists to divorce their own preconceptions of sexuality and
reproduction from these images, it is now understood that these images are related to the
spiritual world of the Moche. There existed sexual religious cults pursuing the belief that
orgasmic states reveal higher levels of consciousness. Compellingly, the proliferation of anal, not
vaginal sex depicted between heterosexual partners challenge modern notions of reproduction
and pleasure. In fact, this often coincided with images of infants and child-rearing. The phallus
itself is thought to be associated with vitality, such as its fluid resembles the foamy mountain
spring water that flows to and brings life to the soil. Furthermore, phalluses were often depicted
on skeletal figures, suggesting a symbolic link between the sexual and metaphysical states.
Written by Susana Sanchez & Alexa Catao
Special thanks to:
Carlos E. Rengifo Chunga (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú), Elizabeth Klarich (Smith
College), Oscar Gabriel Prieto (Yale University), Luis J. Castillo Butters (Pontificia Universidad
Católica del Perú), Julio Rucabado-Yong (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill),
Christopher Donnan (Professor Emeritus, UCLA)
Bibliography:
Butters, L. J. Castillo, and S. Uceda Castillo. "The Mochicas." Handbook of South American
Archaeology. Ed. Helaine Silverman and William H. Isbell. New York: Springer, 2008.
Donnan, Christopher B. "Moche Ceramic Portraits." Moche Art and Archaeology in Ancient Peru.
Washington, D.C: National Gallery of Art, Distributed by Yale UP, 2001.
Pillsbury, Joanne. "Introduction." Moche Art and Archaeology in Ancient Peru. Washington, D.C:
National Gallery of Art, Distributed by Yale UP, 2001. 9-20.
Sawyer, Alan R., Selection and Catalogue. Ancient Peruvian Ceramics: From the Kehl and Nena
Markley Collection. University Park Pennsylvania: Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania
State University, 1975.
Weismantel, Mary. "Moche Sex Pots: Reproduction and Temporality in Ancient South America."
American Anthropologist 106.3 (2004): 495-505. Web. 5 Nov. 2009.
<http://faculty.fairfield.edu/dcrawford/weismantel.pdf>.