Figure: Cuchimilco, Chancay, Peru

Pre-Columbian Peru, northern coast, Chancay, circa 800–1200 CE.
Cuchimilco (or “star-gazer”), a large bichrome ceramic statuette, cast in a hollow mold and of elongated shape. It depicts a woman with delicate features, small nipples, raised arms, bent elbows, and open hands with stylized fingers. Her broad, flat face is adorned with coffee-bean-shaped eyes, a small, pointed nose, and a slightly open mouth forming a gentle smile. Wearing a rectangular headdress, her head is adorned with a painted headband featuring complex, stylized geometric patterns in chocolate brown on a white background. Her eyes are accentuated, and she has tattoos on her cheeks,
broken arm that has been reattached, concretions on the back and side caused by burial
provenance: Helmut Stone Gallery, Miami, USA
American collection
American collection, Dallas, Texas
These large Chancay figurines generally depict women. They are characterized by a simplified body, small vestigial arms raised at the sides, and a flattened face adorned with markings on the chin and eyebrows, as well as a geometric headband. The function of these figurines remains unknown; however, their frequent presence in Chancay tombs has led some researchers to suggest that they may represent a symbolic companion accompanying the deceased into the afterlife. Nevertheless, the discovery of a few male/female pairs in burials calls this theory into question.