Beer Container (Máhuetan)

c. 1940

Beer Container (Máhuetan), c. 1940. Amazonia, Peru, Ucayali River region, Shipibo people. Ceramic, slip; diameter: 79 cm (31 1/8 in.); height: 68 cm (26 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Elizabeth M. Skala 1992.129 Jars like this one are used as beer kegs during multi-day feasts. The shape and colors may reference a tiered cosmos, graduating from the earthen tones of the dark underworld to the bright, light-filled celestial realm. Perhaps extending this idea, the brown, tapered base is buried in the earth to keep the vessel’s contents cool. This jar is a beer keg used during festivals in the Shipibo-Conibo area of Amazonian Peru.