Dr. Sarahh Scher

About Dr. Sarahh Scher

Dr. Sarahh Scher is a Contributing Editor for Pre-Columbian South American Art. She received her Ph.D. in art history from Emory University and an M.F.A. in printmaking from New Mexico State University. Her research focuses on issues surrounding the representation of gender, identity, and costume in the Andean area. She teaches part-time at Emerson College and Lesley University.

The ritual this was made for was enacted in fields the Inka owned — in the Chancay lands they had conquered.

An Inka paccha

The blending of human and animal traits in this figure shows us that the Chancay people were keen observers of nature.

Chancay Standing Female Figure

Raimondi Stele, Chavin de Haunter, Peru, c. 400 B.C.E. — This image is so complex that its features could only be perceived, let alone understood, by the initiated.

Complexity and vision: the Staff God at ...

Inverse-face beaker — Feline fangs, rather than human teeth, suggest that this figure is either supernatural or in contact with deities.

Inverse-Face Beaker

Inverse-Face Beaker, 10th-11th century, Sicán (Lambayeque), Peru, gold, 20 x 18.1 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art) — Grave robbing destroyed much of the archaeological context in Sicán—can what remains unlock the past?

What the bulldozers left behind: reclaiming Sicán’s ...

The Kingdom of Chimor was conquered by the Inka, but impressive adobe walls survive in their capital, Chan Chan.

Introduction to the Chimú culture

Intro to the Andes — Deserts, jungles, and mountains—the architectural and artistic practices of this region were broad and varied.

Introduction to Andean Cultures

Intro to the Inka — The Inka empire spanned from Ecuador to Chile, and was connected by a road system used for official business only.

Introduction to the Inka

Feline-Head Bottle — Multiple points of view are combined in the decoration of this vessel, tip it and see!

Feline-Head Bottle

Introduction to Moche culture — Not one unified political entity, the Moche were independent groups who shared common ideas—and artistic forms.

Moche culture, an introduction

Moche bottle — Thousands of ceramic bottles were produced by Moche ceramicists, and many multiples were made using molds.

Moche Portrait Head Bottle

Pair of Moche ear flares — Made of gold and inlaid stone, these earflares were probably worn for ceremonies rather than daily.

Pair of Earflares, Winged Messengers

Doe Shaman — We don’t know what the makers of this figure called her, but we can tell that she is at once human and animal.

Doe Shaman Effigy

All-T’oqapu Tunic — Andean cultures had long valued textiles, but they were especially significant and finely-made in the Inka Empire.

All-T’oqapu Tunic

Machu Picchu — The Inka emperor hosted feasts, performed religious ceremonies, and ruled his empire from this remote citadel.

Machu Picchu

Cusco — It has been argued that Cusco was laid out in the shape of a puma, symbolizing Inka might.

City of Cusco

Chavin culture — The location of Chavín between the desert coast and Amazon made it a key site for transmission of artistic style.

Chavín de Huántar