A HEAD ON A PLATTER
It’s not made of silver, but this Incan plate bearing a duck’s visage may have been a religious rarity
Sometimes, what you eat your food off can be just as important as what you eat. The Incas certainly seemed to think so. This ceramic plate, featuring a handle shaped like a bird’s head, was found in the Temple of the Sun at Pachacamac in Peru. It is thought to have been made in the early 16th century. Birds were important in Inca culture as they were believed to be able to move between the realms (pachas) of the living and the dead. Images of frogs also cover this plate – they were a popular delicacy in some parts of the Inca Empire.