Objects of Empire: The Ceramic Tradition of the Imperial Inca State

A comparative, empire-wide study of the ceramics associated with the imperial Inca state, theorizing the role of these highly recognizable vessel forms in legitimizing Inca rule and establishing imperial identities.

The beautiful polychrome ceramics of the imperial Inca state have long been noted for their seemingly repetitive nature but little considered beyond this basic observation. The widespread distribution and general uniformity of the Inca pottery, however, hints at its larger importance to the imperial project. Moving beyond the pervasive "seen one, seen 'em all" mentality, Objects of Empire brings to light the variability and rich semiotic content of imperial Inca vessels. Taking a comparative, empire-wide approach, Tamara Bray identifies the parameters and significance of this variability, and defines the core elements of the imperial state style. She then investigates where, when, and why differences and deviations from the perceived norm occur.

This study illuminates the strategies of territorial expansion and political control that lay at the heart of the Inca juggernaut, as well as the role of objects in the calculus of would-be rulers and subjects. Based on a unique and extensive database of imperial Inca pottery developed through detailed study of archaeologically recovered and museum-based collections, Objects of Empire reveals how power and legitimacy were produced and reproduced under the Inca through the material culture of everyday life.

Tamara L. Bray is a professor of anthropology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She is the author or editor of several books including The Archaeology of Wak’as: Explorations of the Sacred in the Pre-Columbian Andes, Visual Languages of the Inca, and The Future of the Past: Archaeologists, Native Americans, and Repatriation.