Room E1, Vitrine E15
Ceramic
Mochica
Peruvian Northern Coast
Florescent Epoch (1 AD – 800 AD)
ML004386, ML004387, ML004388, ML004389, ML0043890, ML0043891.
“In ancient times, Peruvian artists meticulously studied animals. They observed the positions and expressions adopted by animals during the sexual act: the llama reclined on the ground; felines adopted the position we consider natural in the case of humans; and toads coupled one on top of the other. In the case of mice, the male was depicted holding a peanut during the sexual act, which in some representations he presents to the female, as an amorous gift. It is interesting to note how in these cases the female continues to feed during the sexual act, in an attitude of apparent indifference. There can be no doubt that these erotic depictions of animals were employed in vessels as funerary offerings […]. The intention of the Mochica was to depict the reproductive act occurring among other species”. (Rafael Larco Hoyle, Checán, pp. 123-124)