An artwork on Galleree from Cleveland Museum of Art.
About the artwork
Big-Eared Brown Bat Vessel200–850 CE
This bat, perhaps shown opening its wings before taking flight, illustrates Moche artists’ keen interest in realism and in capturing activity at its peak. Moche bat symbolism may be linked to the animal’s paradoxical traits—for instance, bats fly but have fur rather than feathers. Such traits may have caused the Moche to link bats with transitional states, such as the passage between life and death. The vessel depicts a member of the <em>Histiotus mochica </em>species<em>,</em> a big-eared brown bat that researchers described in 2021 and, due to this vessel, named in honor of the Moche, also known as the Mochica.
This vessel depicts a big-eared brown bat.
ceramic, slip
Overall: 18.4 x 17.7 x 15.8 cm (7 1/4 x 6 15/16 x 6 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund
In the quiet stillness of a gallery, where light dances softly across the walls, a unique vessel catches the eye. Its surface, meticulously crafted by the skilled hands of Moche artists, unveils a striking bat poised in a moment suspended in time. With wings unfurled, the creature seems to be on the brink of a flight, embodying not just the act of soaring but also the Moche’s deep-rooted fascination with realism and the vibrancy of life in motion.
The bat, with its paradoxical essence—flying yet cloaked in fur—whispers secrets of transitions known only to those who dwell in the liminal spaces of existence. To the Moche, this enigmatic creature symbolized the delicate boundary between life and death, evoking a sense of wonder and contemplation. Their artistry harnessed the beauty of these transitional states, capturing the bat’s essence in a way that invites viewers to reflect on their own journey through the cycles of existence.
Among the rich narratives of the natural world, the vessel portrays a member of the *Histiotus mochica* species, a big-eared brown bat discovered only recently by researchers in 2021. This bat now carries the Moche's legacy in its name, a testament to a civilization that thrived on the delicate interplay between art, nature, and the metaphysical realms they sought to understand.
As we stand before this extraordinary work, we are reminded of the stories that lie within these crafted forms; stories that not only encapsulate a moment of beauty but also beckon us to reflect on our own state of being, bridging our present with the echoes of ancient wisdom. In the presence of such art, we embrace a space of introspection, where the flight of the bat becomes a metaphor for our own aspirations and transitions in life.
About the artist
Creating transformative experiences through art “for the benefit of all the people forever.”The Cleveland Museum of Art is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 66,500 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The artworks shared on this platform are sourced from the museum's Open Access data under the CC0 license. No endorsement is implied.Address: 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, OH, USA 44106
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