Not currently on display
Inca wooden drinking vessel
Peru, late 17th-18th century
This paccha, or wooden drinking vessel, is cleverly designed to circulate life-giving liquid. The bowl at one end on the puma’s back is used to hold fermented maize beer (chicha).
When tilted upward, the beer passes through a hidden, interior opening into the seated man, whose head is held by the puma’s jaws.
It then comes out from between his legs to run down the zigzag channels on the handle. The painted figures of butterflies and frogs allude to Paititi; a mythical land of eternal abundance.
Collective drinking rituals and drunkeness were thought to provide a glimpse of this invisible paradise behind the harsh realities of everyday life.
Incas
From their capital, Cuzco, in Peru, the Inca controlled a huge empire reaching over 2,400 miles along the length of the Andes mountains. The supreme head of state was the king, considered a living god ruling by divine right.
