PARACAS OCUCAJE PANEL
PERU, C. 100 B.C.
Estimate: £4,000 - £6,000
Auction: 13 March 2025 from 13:00 GMT
Description
woven camelid fibres, the zoomorphic figure depicted in highly stylised form, shown kneeling with the arms raised
Dimensions
71.1 x 73.6 cm
Provenance
Paul Hughes, United Kingdom
Footnote
The present piece dates to c. 100 B.C., and was produced by the Paracas-Cavernas (alternatively referred to as the Paracas-Ocucaje) peoples of the southern Ica Valley in modern Peru.
With its highly stylised frontal form and otherworldly expression, the figure exemplifies the artistic ingenuity of the Andes, where earthly beings were rendered in ways that reflected their spiritual and transformative significance.
The kneeling monkey motif, believed to be a prototype for later stylised developments, was a sacred symbol originating in the Amazonian lowlands and widely recognised along the coast. As James Reid observed, such figures, with their "quasi-human faces" and animated postures, invite viewers to project human qualities onto them. These evocative images foreshadow how surrealists centuries later would view the world as a site of mystery and transformation.