Like the holiday of Dia de los Muertos, this image celebrates the joys of life, while accepting the reality of death.
This South American god represents one of the purest archetypes of regeneration available in religious imagery. While his skull acknowledges the certainty of death, every other element of this god suggests that life is an affair of gaiety and renewal.
This powerfully phallic figure is representative of those fired in clay by artisans of the Mochica culture, dating from 1250 BCE through 800 CE, along the coast of Peru.
Early Spanish chronicles describe the "complex polytheism" of the Native American Nazca peoples making up this culture. Their highly realistic sculptures suggest a natural celebration of sexuality.
[Museo Arqueol Ugico Herrera, Lima.]
4 3/4" gypsumstone statue, red gray color finish. #RF
see also: Native American & Pacific Rim items
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