Room E1, Vitrine E13
Ceramic
Mochica
Peruvian Northern Coast
Florescent Epoch (1 AD – 800 AD)
ML004295, ML004297, ML004299, ML004300, ML004301.
In these Mochica sculptural bottles we see a male figure, which in some cases possesses the features of the mythological hero Aia Paec, such as his feline fangs and serpent belt. In this group of representations, the male does not wear a loincloth, and his genitalia are exposed. His flaccid penis implies a loss of virility. The genital area and other parts of the body are covered with a series of protuberances, which have the same form as Nectandra fruits. These fruits are symbolically associated with the world of the female, because their fruits recall the shape of the vulva. The figure is scratching himself, and nearby the seeds shed by his body are being collected in a bowl. It is as if this man has become feminized, losing all his virile and masculine traits, with the exception of his serpent belt and ear ornaments, two adornments related to the inner world epitomized by the maternal uterus, and therefore associated with the feminine. This scene forms part of the mythical saga of Aia Paec, whose epic adventurous journeys into the different worlds began in the radiant, masculine solar world, before he entered the underworld, where he grew old and died, after which he finally recovered his powers and after coupling with his feminine counterpart returned to the outer world.