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Keru beaker, depicting the "dance of the chunchos"

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One of the typical motifs on colonial kerus is the "dance of the chunchos". Here, inhabitants of the Andean highlands dressed up as chunchos or antis, i.e. population groups from the Amazon lowlands, who were usually declared enemies of the Incas. In dance, they were portrayed as particularly exotic and wild, and the Incas appeared in reverse as a bringer of civilisation. Some people wear European clothes, so they probably represent the new settlers. These early colonial objects are executed in an East Asian lacquer painting technique. All the pre-Columbian kerus were merely carved. Spanish ships, so-called Manila galleons, which travelled fully loaded with silver from Mexico to the Philippines, brought back goods and works of art from Southeast and East Asia. In this way, techniques also migrated from Asia to America, as evidenced by the lacquer technique applied to objects from the Andes region.

Data Provider
Linden-Museum Stuttgart Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Inka-Kultur
Object type
Ritual object
Dimensions
Height: 22 cm
Diameter: 17 cm
Material/Technique
Wood
carved, Lacquer painting
Current location
Linden-Museum Stuttgart
Inventory number
M 30251

Provenance and sources

  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    Hartmann; 2435
  • Production
    when
    Early colonial period
  • Change of physical control or legal title
    where
    Peru
Provenance
This object does not have a confirmed provenance.

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED

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