Room E2, Vitrine E20
Ceramic
Mochica
Peruvian Northern Coast
Florescent Epoch (1 AD – 800 AD)
ML000228, ML004200, ML004219, ML004341
In this sculptural pottery bottle a cadaverous male inhabitant of the underworld is shown being masturbated by a woman. This is a propitiatory scene honoring the world of the dead, in which the aim is not to inseminate, but rather to produce the ejaculation of semen.
The relationship between this type of masturbatory sexual activity and the world of the dead is evidenced by the presence of objects associated with funerary rites, placed in close proximity to the couple. These objects include pitchers and bottles intended as funerary offerings, as well as rattles and other objects used by shamans in the preparation of the body of the deceased for burial. Also, the stepped design of the walls of the bottle symbolizes entry into the underworld.
In the bowls with handles the woman is depicted in the role of recipient. The orifice through which the liquid enters the vessel is shaped like the vagina and the mouth. These bowls were probably used as ceremonial vessels during rituals to contain actual or symbolic semen.