Bidspirit auction | PRE-COLUMBIAN MOCHE WARRIOR PORTRAIT VESSEL

PRE-COLUMBIAN MOCHE WARRIOR PORTRAIT VESSEL - Ca. 100 BC - AD 500 . A finely modeled terracotta vessel depicting a warrior with exaggerated features, including prominent cheekbones, arched brows, and a broad moustache. The figure wears a headdress surmounted by a small feline head, an important Moche symbol associated with power and supernatural transformation. Masks of this type were not intended for daily wear but rather for funerary or ceremonial purposes, often placed in burials to honor elite individuals and invoke protective deities. The warm reddish-brown surface and traces of black pigment highlight the skillful modeling and expressive character typical of Moche ceramics. Size: 165mm x 150mm; Weight: 470g Provenance: Private Qatari Collection; Ex. Collection of Dr and Mrs Albert and Carol Rosenthal/Estate of Carol Rosenthal; Sotherby’s 35& 35 New Bond Street, London, lot 100, December 11, 1978; Lot 209 from a sale of supplicates form the collection of Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and the Museum of primitive Art, Msy 4, 1967.