Large Unique Shipibo vessel
The Shipibo tribe, located along the Ucayali River in Peru, is renowned for their expertly-crafted, polychrome earthenware pottery. Inspired by their ayahuasca-fueled spiritual experiences, the Shipibo’s pottery showcases a unique tempering technique that has been perfected over the course of ten millennia. This process transforms the clay paste into a highly resilient composite material, allowing the Shipibo artisans to create astonishingly large, thin, and complex silhouetted vessels that are unmatched in Native American craftsmanship. Despite increasing urbanization and settlement in places like Pucallpa, the Shipibo people remain deeply rooted in their traditions, which are evident in their shamanistic beliefs and visionary artwork – particularly in the intricate geometric designs that adorn their pottery, clothing, textiles, and even their bodies. Ethnologist Angelika Gebhart-Sayer has described the Shipibo’s art as “visual music”, with their labyrinthine patterns representing both their cultural identity and cosmology.
