Accession Number

1987.022.0001

Alternate object names

'Mestizo' hammered silver dish

Creation Date

circa 1600

Description

A shallow, circular silver dish with a fluted bowl centered by a wreathed medallion containing a large bird that clearly has elements both of a condor and pelican, the former a sacred Inca symbol, the latter a Catholic symbol of the sacrificial Christ. The wide, molded border is elaborately decorated with various scenes of daily Native Peruvian life: a man leads a llama; a woman weaves with a loom; another man digs with a chakitaclla (foot plow); another holds a quero (drinking vessel) while holding hands with a woman. All are wearing Incan-style clothing and interspersed amongst these figures are buildings of traditional Incan stonework. Images of trees, owls, and an unidentified type of mammal punctuate the scenes. This European style vessel decorated with Native Andean themes is a powerful illustration of the merging of the two cultures in the early seventeenth century.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023): N/A
Object Caption (2023):

Dish
Silver (c.1610}
Museum Acquisition Fund
1987.022.0001

This Renaissance style dish was made by an Andean craftsman trained in Spanish silver working. The bird in the center is a condor, sacred in Peru, with wings outstretched. Around the rim are scenes of colonial Inca life, in which the mission church in the background establishes a Christianized setting. A woman is weaving, a man is using a foot plow. A man holding a kero (beaker) is dancing with a woman, and a llama carries a pack.