Vessel, Hand with Kero 15th-16th century Inca () This ceramic effigy of a hand grasping a beaker was made by Inca artists sometime in the century before the beginning of European colonization of Peru. The object was enhanced with the addition of white and red slips (suspensions of clay and/or other colorants in water): white was used on the arm and on the exterior and interior of the vessel; and the hand was painted red, with the exception of the fingernails, which were painted white. Faint traces of geometric patterning are visible on the exterior of the vessel, including small circles. The significance of the subject of this vessel is unknown. Although at times the ritual amputation of limbs was known to have been practiced in ancient Peru, particularly among the Moche of the North Coast (Bourget, 2016; Toyne, 2015), this object seems unrelated to such practices. The ceramic balances best when the blunt end of the arm is on a surface and the hand sticks up. In this position, liquid