K
KEROS
Keros are wooden versions of an important type of Inca drinking vessel; gold or
silver keros are called aquillas. They were also made in ceramic for which no
Quechua term has been recorded. These vessels had either an hourglass or a
cylindrical shape with the circumference widest at the lip and tapered toward the
base. Keros and aquillas have a long history in Andean art, dating back at least a
thousand years prior to the Incas. Inca keros and aquillas seem to be derived
directly from vessels used by the Tiahuanaco and Huari peoples (see
Chronology, Pre-Inca). Moreover, keros continued to be one of the most
important media of artistic expression throughout the Colonial period (1532–
1821) and into the Republican era (1821–present).
A pair of wooden Inca-style keros, or drinking vessels, found at Laguna de los
Cóndores in Chachapoyas, northern Peru. Inca officials presented keros such as
these to local lords. Adriana von Hagen, Museo Leymebamba, Leymebamba,
Amazonas, Peru.