Bowl with Fish Motif c. 650

Curator: It's quite unassuming at first glance, isn't it? Editor: A rustic feeling washes over me... primitive in the best possible way. Is this ancient pottery? Curator: It is! What we have here is a ceramic bowl originating from the Paracas culture, circa 650 CE. The Art Institute of Chicago currently holds it. Note the painted decoration; it's referred to as “Bowl with Fish Motif." Editor: Motif, indeed! One stylized fish dominates the inner bowl, with smaller circular forms floating around it. Very subtle color choices. What’s the effect of painting in this way, against such a dark surface? Curator: The dark slip provides contrast, certainly highlighting the warm ochre hues that render the fish and surrounding pattern. It almost feels like seeing the fish dart through dark waters, these light forms evoking bubbles, too. The fish itself, though, is quite abstract, yet manages to still convey movement, swimming upwards...or maybe leaping! It really stimulates the imagination. Editor: Those geometric borders feel crucial, lending some visual rhythm. See the top and bottom? Simple chevrons up top; neat rows below. The effect provides grounding, organizing that otherwise unbounded inner space. Curator: The geometry serves almost as a visual metaphor, boxing up this fish as if we humans thought we could ever actually contain or control Nature’s abundance! This work almost begs one to dream and reflect. What purpose did these Paracas people intend for such bowls? Editor: Possibly utilitarian, certainly, though this decorative investment speaks toward some ceremonial application, some sacred feasting practice. Though such uses elude us still today. Curator: Despite that uncertainty, isn't it remarkable that we are able to still observe it, these centuries later, and ponder their lives. And consider these bowls themselves: artifacts now, but so integral, once, to Paracan life. I wonder what stories these could tell. Editor: And this, maybe, is why these aesthetic archetypes are so significant...echoing humanity's most primitive selves, back toward its most forward leaning selves. A timeless effect, really.