Cup Depicting the Decapitator Deity

Public Domain

En lire plusFavori

Images(5)

Artist Unknown Central and South American

CultureTiwanaku (Tiahuanaco)

Titles

Cup Depicting the Decapitator Deity
Cup

Date400–1100 AD

PlaceChile

PlacePeru

PlaceBolivia

MediumGold

Dimensions4 3/8 × 3 3/8 × 5 in. (11.2 × 8.6 × 12.7 cm)

Credit LineGift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.

Object number2004.2536

Current Location

The Caroline Wiess Law Building

212M Jones Galleries

Exposé

Explore Further

Department

Art of the Indigenous Americas, Glassell Collection

Object Type

METALWORK

ProvenancePossibly private collection, by 1968 [1]; [Andre Emmerich Gallery, New York] [2]; [private European collection] [2]; [Sotheby's, New York, May 17, 1993, Pre-Columbian Sale 6420, Lot 38] [2]; purchased by Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. (1913–2008), Houston, May 17, 1993–2004 [3] [4]; given to MFAH, 2004.
[1] Allen Wardwell, The Gold of Ancient America (Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1968), 28, fig. 2. Listed as private collection and not part of the exhibition.
[2] Sotheby’s New York catalog, May 17, 1993.
[3] Glassell Inventory, inventory number precedes object coming from the same sale, described on May 19, 1993.
[4] Glassell Photo Album #12.
Exhibition History"Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inca," Denver Art Museum, October 16, 2004–January 23, 2005.
Published References "Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inca", Margaret Young-Sanchez, editor (Lincoln, Nebraska: Denver Art Museum; University of Nebraska Press), 62. Lapiner, Alan. Pre-Columbian Art of South America. New York: Harry N. Abrams, INC., Publishers, 1976; 251, figs. 580-581; 446, fig. 580, linked to 2001.804.1,.2. Wardwell, Allen. The Gold of Ancient America. Greenwich, CT: New York Graphic Society, 1968. Page 28, figure 2.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.