The Inca civilisation (1250-1450 A.D.)
When Pizarro landed in Peru, the Inca empire extended beyond the Peruvian region and included the southern area of Ecuador and the northern areas of Chile and Bolivia. The Inca culture appropriated the styles and the productions of the annexed populations, for example in the north the Inca style blended with the Chimú style, giving origin to the so-called Chimú-Inca style.
Inca potters used about twelve different models to produce vases for practical use. Potters decorated them with geometric patterns (circles, dots, chessboards, crosses) and a sort of stylized fern, all painted in black, orange, yellow and white on a dark red or orange background. The shapes of the vessels recall those of previous or coeval civilizations, except for the arybalo, a kind of amphora used to preserve liquids and with a pointed bottom that was buried into the ground. The Incas improved the techniques of the goldsmith’s art thanks to the exceptional ability of the Chimú goldsmiths who migrated to Cuzco.