21st Nov, 2025 13:00
Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art
128
A CERAMIC STIRRUP-SPOUT VESSEL IN THE FORM OF A TIGRILLO WILD CAT, MOCHE CULTURE
€2,400
€5,000
A buyer’s premium of 30.00% (including VAT) applies to the hammer price of this lot if your bid is successful.
Peru, Moche civilization, (c. 100-800 AD). Finely modeled and covered in a dark slip, the vessel takes the form of a recumbent tigrillo, a stirrup spout rising from its back. The hind limbs are swept to the side as the animal props itself on powerful forepaws, its mouth agape with the tongue protruding and sharp fangs exposed. Wide eyes and pricked ears convey an alert and watchful presence.
The tigrillo, also known as the oncilla or ‘little tiger,’ is a small wild cat native to South America.
Provenance: With Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte, Berlin, Germany. Collection of Theodor Hahn, acquired from the above in 1978, and thence by descent to his wife Gisela Hahn who bequeathed the lot to her friend Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky, Vienna, Austria.
The present lot is accompanied by copies of relevant documents which are listed below:
-A signed and sealed expertise from Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte, dated 9 January 1978, confirming the dating and culture, and stating a purchase price of DEM 9,500 or approx. EUR 14,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing)
- Correspondence between Theodor Hahn and the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, particularly with the Rathgen-Forschungslabor and Abteilung Amerikanische Archäologie, between the years 1978-1980, when Hahn was working closely with the Museum to authenticate the lots he acquired from Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte.
- An affidavit confirming the gift of 17 Pre-Columbian pieces from the collection of Theodor and Gisela Hahn to Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky, dated February 2023, signed by Gisela Hahn and Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky. The 17 works from this gift are offered in the present auction.
Theodor ‘Teddy’ Hahn (1933-2012) was a well-known and respected collector of Asian and South American art. After spending time in museums to study the early cultures of the world, finding particular interest in their sculptures, he began collecting. He remarked once: ‘I somehow knew it would have a profound influence on my life. How right I was. And how happy I have been.’
Art Loss Register: ALR Ref. S00262683. A copy accompanies the lot.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, firing irregularities, small chips, two minuscule holes, some soiling, old repairs with associated touchups, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations, all as generally expected from Moche excavations.
Weight: 630.1 g
Dimensions: Length 20 cm
Jaguars were a favored subject in the art of ancient Peru, their strength and ferocity serving as enduring symbols of power. This ceramic vessel, created by artists of the Moche culture, presents a strikingly lifelike image of a recumbent jaguar. Its mouth is open in a powerful display, revealing sharp canines—features that would have evoked awe and fear in any viewer.
The Moche civilization flourished from about 100 to 800 AD in northern Peru, with its capital near present-day Moche in Trujillo. Centered in several valleys along the northern coast, the Moche cultural sphere extended for some 250 miles along the desert shoreline and reached up to 50 miles inland. Moche ceramics display a remarkable variety of forms and themes, documenting many of the society’s most important activities, including warfare, agriculture, metalworking, weaving, and eroticism. North coast Peruvian ceramic art traditionally employed a limited palette, primarily red and white. Hallmarks of the tradition include fine-line painting, fully modeled clay, strikingly naturalistic figures, and the distinctive stirrup spout.
The stirrup spout was among the most characteristic vessel forms of pre-Columbian Peru and the wider Andean region. A short spout at the top is joined to the vessel body by two tubular supports, creating a shape reminiscent of a horseback stirrup, from which its modern name derives. This construction allowed the main chamber to be modeled in a wide variety of forms, with surfaces ranging from highly polished to richly textured. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these vessels were also practical: in the arid deserts of Peru, the narrow opening helped to prevent evaporation of liquids stored inside. The distinctive neck design further made them easy to transport, as two vessels could be tied to either end of a cord and carried over the shoulder or on the back of a llama. Large numbers of such vessels have been found in elite burials on Peru’s north coast.
Literature comparison:
Compare a near identical feline stirrup-spout vessel, 19.8 cm long, dated 3rd-9th century AD, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 2010.4.
Peru, Moche civilization, (c. 100-800 AD). Finely modeled and covered in a dark slip, the vessel takes the form of a recumbent tigrillo, a stirrup spout rising from its back. The hind limbs are swept to the side as the animal props itself on powerful forepaws, its mouth agape with the tongue protruding and sharp fangs exposed. Wide eyes and pricked ears convey an alert and watchful presence.
The tigrillo, also known as the oncilla or ‘little tiger,’ is a small wild cat native to South America.
Provenance: With Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte, Berlin, Germany. Collection of Theodor Hahn, acquired from the above in 1978, and thence by descent to his wife Gisela Hahn who bequeathed the lot to her friend Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky, Vienna, Austria.
The present lot is accompanied by copies of relevant documents which are listed below:
-A signed and sealed expertise from Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte, dated 9 January 1978, confirming the dating and culture, and stating a purchase price of DEM 9,500 or approx. EUR 14,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing)
- Correspondence between Theodor Hahn and the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, particularly with the Rathgen-Forschungslabor and Abteilung Amerikanische Archäologie, between the years 1978-1980, when Hahn was working closely with the Museum to authenticate the lots he acquired from Kunst Handel Barbara Faehte.
- An affidavit confirming the gift of 17 Pre-Columbian pieces from the collection of Theodor and Gisela Hahn to Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky, dated February 2023, signed by Gisela Hahn and Dr. Georg Thaler-Szulyovszky. The 17 works from this gift are offered in the present auction.
Theodor ‘Teddy’ Hahn (1933-2012) was a well-known and respected collector of Asian and South American art. After spending time in museums to study the early cultures of the world, finding particular interest in their sculptures, he began collecting. He remarked once: ‘I somehow knew it would have a profound influence on my life. How right I was. And how happy I have been.’
Art Loss Register: ALR Ref. S00262683. A copy accompanies the lot.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, firing irregularities, small chips, two minuscule holes, some soiling, old repairs with associated touchups, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations, all as generally expected from Moche excavations.
Weight: 630.1 g
Dimensions: Length 20 cm
Jaguars were a favored subject in the art of ancient Peru, their strength and ferocity serving as enduring symbols of power. This ceramic vessel, created by artists of the Moche culture, presents a strikingly lifelike image of a recumbent jaguar. Its mouth is open in a powerful display, revealing sharp canines—features that would have evoked awe and fear in any viewer.
The Moche civilization flourished from about 100 to 800 AD in northern Peru, with its capital near present-day Moche in Trujillo. Centered in several valleys along the northern coast, the Moche cultural sphere extended for some 250 miles along the desert shoreline and reached up to 50 miles inland. Moche ceramics display a remarkable variety of forms and themes, documenting many of the society’s most important activities, including warfare, agriculture, metalworking, weaving, and eroticism. North coast Peruvian ceramic art traditionally employed a limited palette, primarily red and white. Hallmarks of the tradition include fine-line painting, fully modeled clay, strikingly naturalistic figures, and the distinctive stirrup spout.
The stirrup spout was among the most characteristic vessel forms of pre-Columbian Peru and the wider Andean region. A short spout at the top is joined to the vessel body by two tubular supports, creating a shape reminiscent of a horseback stirrup, from which its modern name derives. This construction allowed the main chamber to be modeled in a wide variety of forms, with surfaces ranging from highly polished to richly textured. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, these vessels were also practical: in the arid deserts of Peru, the narrow opening helped to prevent evaporation of liquids stored inside. The distinctive neck design further made them easy to transport, as two vessels could be tied to either end of a cord and carried over the shoulder or on the back of a llama. Large numbers of such vessels have been found in elite burials on Peru’s north coast.
Literature comparison:
Compare a near identical feline stirrup-spout vessel, 19.8 cm long, dated 3rd-9th century AD, in the Cleveland Museum of Art, accession number 2010.4.
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Auction: Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art, 21st Nov, 2025
With our auction Fine Antiquities & Ancient Art on November 21, 2025, Galerie Zacke opens a new chapter.
After decades of specialization in the arts of Asia —from Japan, China, and Southeast Asia through Afghanistan and the Eurasian steppes to the Arabian Peninsula—we now take a step westward. This premiere is dedicated to the great cultures of antiquity: from the Levant and Egypt across the Mediterranean to Italy, the Balkans, and the Maghreb. A circle closes—along the ancient trade routes once traversed by conquerors from Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan. Learn more.
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21 November
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