An elegant masterpiece of highly abstracted and powerfully rendered minimalistic essential elements of the venerated feline (puma/jaguar) with only its claws visible, contrasted by surrounding incisions, such contrasting surface textures are so quintessentially Chavin. Jaguars/pumas (and their attributes) are associated with transformation and are often considered to be the alter ego of priests and shamans, these felines are the most impressive wild cats of the Americas and one long revered in ancient times for its prowess, agility and cunning. Early fine Chavin ceramic examples were fired to create muted, matte tones of gray, black, and tan, with highly polished or incised surfaces. This tall vessel, with its well-preserved surface paint, is said to come from the area known as Tembladera in the Jequetepeque Valley of northern Peru. A modeled, stylised feline claws in profile are protruding on the upper front. Under the the long conventionalised snout its claws surrounding on all sides.

The feline associations are probably those of the jaguar or puma, the most impressive wild cats of the Americas and one long revered in ancient times for its prowess, agility and cunning.The earliest central Andean art style with wide-spread distribution and influence is called Chavin, after the ceremonial center at the site of Chavin de Huantar in the northern highlands. The relief carving and monumental stone sculpture of its imposing temples express a fully developed religious iconography that features felines, birds of prey, and serpents. The ceramics most closely associated with the Chavin style are monochromatic sculptural vessels with flat bottoms and stirrup-shaped spouts, a form that persisted in north coast ceramic traditions until the Spanish conquest.