Pedestal Bowl

This flared bowl, called florero, has an empty pedestal base filled with small ceramic pellets that rattle when the vessel is shaken. Moche flared bowls were produced from the fourth century A.D. They became taller over time, with smaller bases and wider, more everted rims. Complex decoration is almost invariably painted inside the rim, while the exterior of the vessel shows simpler designs. This flared bowl is decorated with a net motif on the exterior and with interlocking zigzag lines with triangles on the interior. The geometric decoration, as well as the notched rim with step patterns, indicate that it was produced during the Late Moche period (600–800). Similar vessels were found at the site of Galindo, on the north coast of Peru, occupied by Moche people from the sixth century A.D.