Double Vessel, Monkey 14th–15th century Chimú Elaborate and refined vessels of gold and silver were produced in the last centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire by metalsmiths in the kingdoms of Peru’s north coast. Most likely made to hold chicha, a maize beer, drinking such beverages was at the heart of ceremonial activities in the ancient Andes. This example is composed of two parts: a plain, round-shouldered beaker connected by a cylindrical tube to a figure in the shape of a seated monkey with legs drawn up and holding a fruit to its mouth. Created from twenty-four pieces of silver sh

Double Vessel, Monkey 14th–15th century Chimú Elaborate and refined vessels of gold and silver were produced in the last centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire by metalsmiths in the kingdoms of Peru’s north coast. Most likely made to hold chicha, a maize beer, drinking such beverages was at the heart of ceremonial activities in the ancient Andes. This example is composed of two parts: a plain, round-shouldered beaker connected by a cylindrical tube to a figure in the shape of a seated monkey with legs drawn up and holding a fruit to its mouth. Created from twenty-four pieces of silver sheet of uniform thickness joined together both mechanically and with solder, the vessel is hollow throughout (see x-ray image below). This meant that when liquid was poured in and out of it, air would be forced out through a sphere inside the head, creating a whistle. The sound would emanate from holes pierced in the monkey’s mouth, nose, and eyes. Thus, as the vessel’s liquid contents were tilted to imbibe, and then set back down, the air in the vessel would be displaced, and the monkey would appear to make a noise. This work was made by silversmiths in Chimor, a powerful Andean kingdom that thrived between around 1000 and 1470, when it was conquered by the Inca. This vessel is one of several dozen works in silver reportedly found together in a tomb or hoard, including other figural and plain vessels. Also known as the Chimú culture, Chimor dominated some 800 miles of Peru’s North Coast, from close to what is now the modern border with Ecuador to just north of Lima. Remains of its splendid capital, Chan Chan, which encompassed some 8 square miles (20 square kilometers) at the edge of the Pacific Ocean, still stand on the outskirts of the modern city of Trujillo. Chan Chan was famed for its artists, and a striking percentage of the population—perhaps twelve thousand in this city of forty thousand—was engaged with craft production (Topic 1990). Many, if not most,

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