Warrior Bottle 4th–7th century Moche Painted in a style called “fineline,” so named for the detailed figures and scenes delicately painted in red slip (a suspension of clay and/or other colorants in water) on a white background, this bottle depicts four warriors, arrayed in pairs and standing on a red ground line that encircles the vessel. The flask-shaped bottle—a less-common vessel shape in Moche ceramics—includes a stirrup-spout, a characteristic feature of Moche bottles. So-called for their formal resemblance to stirrups, a device used to anchor a foot to the saddle of a horse (although en

Warrior Bottle 4th–7th century Moche Painted in a style called “fineline,” so named for the detailed figures and scenes delicately painted in red slip (a suspension of clay and/or other colorants in water) on a white background, this bottle depicts four warriors, arrayed in pairs and standing on a red ground line that encircles the vessel. The flask-shaped bottle—a less-common vessel shape in Moche ceramics—includes a stirrup-spout, a characteristic feature of Moche bottles. So-called for their formal resemblance to stirrups, a device used to anchor a foot to the saddle of a horse (although entirely unrelated to that function), such spouts are usually located at the top of the vessel’s body. On this bottle, the stirrup-spout is eccentrically located to the side, thereby permitting the placement of a central, cylindrical, sealed element that resembles a bottle spout but does not serve as one (Donnan and McClelland, 1999). The warriors painted on the body of the vessel face their opponents in full battle regalia, including shields, clubs and, in one case, spears. Each warrior wears a backflap (a type of body armor, suspended from the waist and terminating in a curved edge), a conical helmet tied under the chin, and a tunic. The helmets and tunics worn by each warrior feature matching designs, but each warrior’s vestments are unique. Three of the four helmets have detailing suggesting feathers; a fourth features an animal pelt. All of the helmets are surmounted by crescent-shaped finials. Each figure holds a small shield in one hand and a mace in the other hand. One combatant holds two darts and a throwing stick, which can be identified by the hook at one end and the thumb grasp at the other. Behind the pairs of warriors, there are several forms thought to represent flowering bromeliads, plants that live on Peru’s coastal desert, perhaps suggesting a general location of the battle (Donnan and McClelland, 1999). The stirrup-spout vessel was a much favore

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