Urpu (jar)

Containers with globular bodies, pointed bases, long necks, and flared rims, known as urpus, were the most recognizable form of Inca imperial style ceramics. Large urpus—up to 45 inches high—were used to carry and serve aqha (corn beer or chicha) in ritual celebrations sponsored by the Inca state. The pointed base of urpus allowed large ones to be set into the earth for stability. On the shoulder of the chamber there is usually a central lug, often in the shape of a stylized animal head, as seen here. Ropes were pulled through the handles and secured around the lug for carrying on the backs of porters.

Most such bottles are embellished with polychrome geometric slip designs in black and red on a cream-colored background; representational motifs are rare. This urpu is unusual as it is decorated with images of birds, perhaps hummingbirds, enclosed in circles, cat-like creatures, and insects. The symbolism of these images is unclear, but it has been suggested that for the Inca flies represented the departure of the soul after death (Salomon and Urioste, 1991, p. 129). Smaller urpus such as the present example may have fulfilled a votive purpose since some, including miniature ones, were found in burials in distant parts of the Inca empire, from northern coastal Ecuador to the high mountain peaks of central Chile.

Further Reading and References

Cummins, Thomas B. F. Toasts with the Inca: Andean Abstraction and Colonial Images on Quero Vessels. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002.

Kusunoki, Ricardo, Cecilia Pardo and Julio Rucabado. Los incas. Más allá de un imperio. Lima: Museo del Arte, 2023.

Salomon, Frank, and George L. Urioste (translators). The Huarochirí Manuscript: A Testament of Ancient and Colonial Andean Religion. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1991.

Shimada, Izumi, ed. The Inka Empire: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015.