We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art stands and recognise the creative contribution First Australians make to the art and culture of this country.
Unknown / Peru / Pot: (seed carrier) 1400s / Terracotta earthenware clay hand built and carved with burnished finish / 15.5 x 14 x 11cm / Gift of Mrs Lillian Bosch 1975 / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Unknown ArtistPot: (seed carrier) c.1400–1500
Not Currently on Display
This terracotta earthenware vessel handmade from clay has a burnished finish, and is decorated with a geometric Inca-style designs. Dating from fifteenth-century Peru, it was likely used as a seed carrier.
Many such vessels which pre-date the Spanish colonisation of South America survive, though their original use is not known. Some were intended as musical instruments, such as whistles and drums that could be partially filled with water, while others functioned as vessels, taking the form of animals, spindle whorls (used in cloth-making) or stirrup jars (double-handled jars).