Deer

MOCHICA – Peru

200 – 450 A.D.

Height : 4.3 cm – Width : 1.9 cm - Depth : 3.2 cm

Copper with a green patina

 

Copper zoomorphic sculpture representing a deer.

Its mouth is open. The round eyes are hemmed. The ears are wide spread and the symmetrical antlers are backward curved. The tail is raised.

The deer is the archaic image of the cyclic revival. Its antlers evoke the tree of life and its renewal symbolizes the fecundity and the rebirth. Dawn animal, it is often associated with the East and so with the world’s creation. Its bellow is the impetus that brings to life.

The Mochica culture has developed along the North coast of Peru, around the Moche and Chicama valleys, between 100 and 800 A.D. This civilization is a society characterized by a strong hierarchy, dominated by an aristocracy controlling the political, military and religious powers. From an artistic point of view, it is mostly renowned for its bright colored ceramics, but also for its high level of metallurgical technology.