Moche and Nasca Ceramics By Shelby Cox and Greg McGrath

Moche and Nasca Ceramics By Shelby Cox and Greg McGrath

Outline Moche history, culture, ceramics Nasca history, culture, ceramics Chinese ceramics Analyzing Ceramics Methodology Examples

Moche History and Culture The Moche people ruled Peru s northern coast from 200-1000 A.D. Moche people were not a unified political entity, but lived in independently governed groups that shared a common culture and spiritual beliefs. Northern Moche are known for their skillful metal work, while southern Moche are known for their masterful ceramics.

Moche Ceramics Southern Moche used molds when making ceramics to ensure perfection and consistency Only used 3 colors of paint: cream, red-brown and red-orange Many ceramics are sculptures depicting people, animals and religion/mythical figures Also made vases which depict designs and patterns similar to those seen on textiles, and also Moche warriors at combat

Nasca History and Culture 200 BCE -- 600 CE They are known for their textiles, ceramics, and famous Nasca lines Nasca were not politically unified, but rather were a collection of chiefdoms which acted together when mutually beneficial Nasca groups shared artistic and architectural themes Most villages were built on terraced hillsides Nasca had some large cities such as Ventilla, which has advanced underground irrigation systems

Nasca Ceramics No known form of writing. Pottery was used for ritual, burial, and decorative purpose. Most of the known Nasca ceramics were found in burial grounds Made by hand, without a pottery wheel. Had thin walls and ranged from sculptures of animals and people to the most popular double-spout model Used more colors than any other American culture Many of their ceramics are shaped like heads, which comes from the Nasca practice of taking trophy heads after victories on the battlefield

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Chinese Ceramics History Oldest ceramics in the world Dating as far back as 18,000 BCE Continuously produced until 1800s Most advanced techniques in the world Developed porcelain, glaze techniques Mass production began during Yuan dynasty (1279 -- 1368 CE) Widely traded

Chinese Ceramics History Banshan phase (2650 -- 2300 BCE) Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 -- 420 CE) Ming Dynasty, Xuande Period (1426 -- 1435 CE)

Analyzing Ceramics Storytelling Fables Rituals Geometry Finite patterns Linear patterns Tessellations of the sphere Combination

Do the ceramic patterns come from textiles? Problems: Not many Moche or Nasca textiles exist Less interest in purely geometric features Geometric features may be too common Strategy: Look at the Moche and Nasca textiles that we can find Look at earlier textiles Look for motifs common in Andean textiles Look at geometry of ceramics from other cultures Look at non-geometric designs

Do the ceramic patterns come from textiles? Braid Motif Nasca ceramic Nasca featherwork textile

Do the ceramic patterns come from textiles? Two Ming ceramics (1400 -- 1600 CE)

Do the ceramic patterns come from textiles? Moche ceramic Moche textile Moche ceramic

Do the ceramic patterns come from textiles? Moche Ceramic Textile from Huaca Prieta, (6000-1800 BC) Colors enhanced

(Semi-Regular Tessellations of the Sphere)

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Bibliography [1] Frame, M. (1986). The visual images of fabric structures in ancient Peruvian art. In The Junius B. Bird Conference on Andean Textiles (pp. 47-80) [2] Rosenberg, J. S. (2016, June 17). Chinese Pottery: The First Five Millennia. Retrieved April 04, 2018, from https://harvardmagazine.com/2016/06/harvard-exhibition-neolithic-chinese- pottery [3] Valenstein, S. G. (1988). A handbook of Chinese ceramics. Metropolitan museum of art. [4] Wu, X., Zhang, C., Goldberg, P., Cohen, D., Pan, Y., Arpin, T., & Bar-Yosef, O. (2012). Early pottery at 20,000 years ago in Xianrendong Cave, China. Science, 336(6089), 1696-1700. [5] Cartwright, M. (2016, April 5). Nazca Pottery. Retrieved April 15, 2018, from https://www.ancient.eu/article/883/nazca-pottery/ [6] Bowl [Ceramic found in Ceramics Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ceramics, Room 145, case 2, shelf 3]. (500-800 CE). Retrieved April 15, 2018, from http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/o279358/bowl/ [7] History.com Staff. (2017). Nazca Lines. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.history.com/topics/nazca-lines [8] Double Spout Bottle[Ceramic found in The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. (100 -- 600 CE). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1978.412.91/ [9] Bowl [Ceramic found in The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. (200 -- 400 CE). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1978.412.63/ [10] Pedestal Bowl [Ceramic found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. (600 -- 800 CE). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/63.226.5/ [11] Sea Lion Hunt Bottle [Ceramic found in The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. (600 -- 700 CE). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1978.412.69/ [12] Runners Bottle [Ceramic found in The Metropolitan Museum of Art]. (400 -- 700 CE). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/67.167.3/ [13] Fragment with stepped bird and scroll design [Textile found in Fowler Museum at UCLA]. (500 -- 700 ce). Retrieved April 17, 2018, from https://www.fowler.ucla.edu/collections/andean- textiles/