Description

This ceramic bowl was made by the Shipibo People of Peru. The Shipibo are known for labyrinthine geometric designs that reflect their culture and their cosmology. The main elements of the designs are the square, the rhombus, the octagon and the cross. Ceramic pieces by the Shipibo are hand modeled using a coiling technique. After that, they are decorated with slip using either a white or red background color and then burnished before being finally painted with the characteristic white or black geometric patterns. After being fired in a bonfire, ceramic pieces are then treated with resin that serves the double purpose of sealing them as well as accentuating the patterns. Ceramics are produced by the women in the village. This bowl was made in the early 1950s.