Standing Male Figurine, Wari, Peru, Middle Horizon period, c.600–1000. Stone, 3.2 x 1.4 x 1.6 cm. Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of J. Lionberger Davis, 167:1954.

This figurine is likely carved from turquoise, a blue-green stone associated with fertility, elite status, and wealth in Wari times. The figure stands erect with arms at sides wearing a single tunic-like garment that falls to the lower legs. The oversized face appears expressionless with wide almond-shaped eyes and fine lips parted by a small incision. Figurines like this one are frequently associated with complex group offerings linked to ancestor worship. Three figurine caches have been recovered from the site of Pikillacta, a massive Wari outpost near Cuzco in the southern highlands of Peru. In other locales, individual figurines have been found in tombs and the surface of sites. While the majority of the known figurines seem to represent individuals with distinct clothing and headdresses, some appear as identical matches.