A terracotta painted pottery bowl decorated with stylized crabs and geometric elements. The cream-coloured slip extends over the interior and part of the exterior.
 
Pre-Columbian Peru Cajamarca: Northern Highlands: Circa 1000 - 1400 AD.
 
Complete and intact.
Width 17.6 cms (6.9 ins)
 
Provenance: Ex. Jack Bregman collection, NYC. Acquired prior to 1969 while in the Peace Corps. By descent to current owner. Collection # 044, 063, 071.
 
The Cajamarca bowls were produced by the Cajamarca culture, a distinct pre-Inca civilization that flourished in the northern highlands of present-day Peru. The crab designs are among the most distinctive and may have symbolic or religious significance, possibly linked to water, fertility, or coastal influence, as the Cajamarca region maintained trade and cultural connections with coastal societies like the Moche and Lambayeque.