Chavin Greyware Stirrup Vessel

In the Ancient Americas as in the classical world, the owl was associated with wisdom as well as with the supernatural. Because of its ability to see in the dark, the owl was often linked to the underworld and to the rites of death. This magnificent Chavin vessel radiates a powerful aura of magic. Elegantly stylized, it depicts four owls sharing their wide-open eyes, watchfully facing in all four directions as if to ward off any approaching evil. A masterpiece of early Peruvian art, the vessel reaches us on both the aesthetic level and on a primal emotional one.