Stirrup bottleneck representing a toad with felins attributes

This magnificent toad is the work of the Moche culture, also known as Mochica, a brilliant civilization that developed between 100 and 700 AD, in the desert valleys of northern Peru and which has distinguished itself in the production of sculptural vases and bottles, In terracotta, admirable creativity and realism.

The care given to this piece, polished to a magnificent varnished surface, its remarkable naturalistic representation and the symbolism of the toad, which «calls rain» and promotes agricultural growth, make it a ceremonial object of great value. Having played an active role in rituals related to fertility but also the cult of the dead.

While it is not possible to be categorical about the species represented, especially since changes may have occurred since the Mochica era, it is known that toads of the Bufonidae family were endemic to the northern coastal zone. Among them, the Bufo Marinus, better known as the Buffalo Toad, a name linked to its unusual corpulence, played a major cosmogonic and ideological role.