Nazca painted pottery vessels, Peru, circa 1907

About this postcard

Two Nazca ceramic vessels are shown against a plain background: a shallow bowl with a band of interlocking stepped, hook-like motifs and small eye forms, and a flaring beaker painted with a dark figure panel and a small rectangular cartouche. The Field Museum caption places them in Hall 9 and describes them as Nazca pottery from Peru, "Painted with conventional designs of unknown significance. Late Period." The Nazca culture flourished on the south coast of Peru from roughly 100 BC to 800 AD. Its polychrome ceramics, often painted with trophy heads, mythical beings, and interlocking geometric patterns, are among the best-known artifacts of Andean archaeology. The caption's "Late Period" places these vessels in the later phase of Nazca ceramic production.