Architectural Vessel A.D. 400-600 Moche This vessel is modeled in the shape of a spiral platform surmounted by an open-sided structure with a figure inside. The vessel itself is a bottle, with a spout in the shape of a stirrup, a characteristic shape on Perus north coast from the first millennium B.C. through the later part of the first millennium A.D. The spiral platform is ornamented with a procession of snails, sculpted in high relief, and felines, painted in red slip, ascending to the summit where a figure is depicted within a four-posted, roofed structure on a circular podium. The figure wears a conical headdress, ear ornaments, and a beaded collar, and holds a war club across his chest. Finely made and delicately painted, this bottle would most likely have been used in Moche ceremonial contexts before its ultimate deposition in a burial. The Moche culture flourished on Perus north coast from A.D. 200 to 800. Powerful men, and sometimes women, ruled over regional centers in the