Like other raw materials, wood was an important medium for Wari art. The skilled artisans of Castillo de Huarmey created incredible wooden objects, including personal adornments for the elite such as ear ornaments, containers, cups, and spoons, as well as tools for textile activities.
These two small containers were found inside a funerary bundle, placed as part of the offerings near the chest of the individual. These objects are characterized by having a receptacle covered at the top and bottom with separately carved stoppers. They were usually used for storing powdered lime, an important element in the chewing of coca, as its mixture helps activate the plant’s alkaloids. Lime was added with a small spoon to a coca ball in the mouth, which was chewed, probably for its medicinal properties, as well as for social and ritual reasons.
The smaller sculptural container represents a male figure with his hands, detailed through incisions, on both sides of his body and wearing the characteristic four-pointed Wari hat from which long braids of hair fall over his back.
The female figure is depicted with loose hair, a long tunic, and a textile around her shoulders reminiscent of a lliklla. This garment is still used by Quechua women in the Andean region.
Traces of paint on the surface indicate that these containers were originally very colorful. However, over time, these colors have faded or are not very evident. Black paint was used for the hair of the figure and the vertical lines on her tunic. An orange-red pigment is more evident on the entire facial area, possibly cinnabar (mercury sulfide), which was considered a sacred color in ancient Peru.
Roberto Pimentel Nita