Pottery vessel depicting a bat-shaped deity. Moche, Peru, c. 500–700 CE.

Pottery vessel depicting a bat-shaped deity. Moche, Peru, c. 500–700 CE.
Terracotta.
Provenance: private collection of David Sheridan, Branchburg, New Jersey, acquired between 1950 and the early 2000s, through family inheritance; private collection in Arizona; previously, Harvey Sarner Collection, Chicago.
Thermoluminescence test attached.
Condition: professionally restored.
Measurements: 22.5 cm high.

Important Moche sculptural terracotta huaco depicting a deity or supernatural figure in the form of a bat. The piece features a globular body, a stirrup handle, and a vertical spout—a typology characteristic of Moche ritual pottery—upon which is placed a modeled figure with zoomorphic features: a highly expressive head, developed ears, outstretched wings, and a frontal pose.

The Moche culture, which developed on the northern coast of Peru, achieved extraordinary mastery in sculptural pottery, transforming its vessels into complex narrative and symbolic vessels. In their imagery, hybrid beings, animals, and supernatural figures occupied a central place, linked to concepts of power, sacrifice, transformation, and transition between different planes of existence.

The bat, a nocturnal animal associated with liminal spaces such as caves, darkness, and the underworld, may have acquired a strong ritual dimension within the Andean universe. In this piece, its presence is intensified by the upper figure, which seems to dominate the vessel as a protective or supernatural manifestation. The painted decoration on the body, featuring schematic motifs and linear signs, adds a second level of visual interpretation and reinforces the ceremonial character of the piece.

The piece stands out for the richness of its artistic conception: it combines sculptural volume, the function of a vessel, and symbolic narrative into a highly impactful image. The figure of the bat, modeled with remarkable expressive power, transforms the huaco into an object of ritual presence, transcending its formal function as a vessel.

Its documented provenance, which includes time in private North American collections, along with the attached thermoluminescence test, provides significant support for its cataloging. Despite having undergone professional repairs, it retains remarkable visual power and is a particularly attractive piece within the field of Moche ceramics collecting due to its iconography, scale, and symbolic complexity.