纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 048莫希战士锅（3）（在线收听）

He's a kneeling figure of a young Moche warrior. In his right hand he holds something that actually looks quite like a microphone but is actually a mace, it's a head-cracker, and on his left forearm he carries a small circular shield. His skin is a deep copper colour, and his eyes are staring white - a very, very arresting gaze.

Before we try to squeeze evidence from them about the society they represent, I want to take a moment to admire these pots simply as great works of art. The Moche were master-potters, and so their creations can best be judged by another master-potter - the prize-winning Grayson Perry:

"Well, he's a dumpy little fellow, and they're beautifully modelled - they almost look like they've been burnished. If I was to get this effect, I'd probably use the back of a spoon, but they've probably used some sort of bone implement or something. But they were experts in mould technology, and they used a lot of moulds to replicate these things a number of times - something I always call a sort of relaxed fluency, in that you imagine the person who's made it has made hundreds of these things, and they're kind of riffing on it, and so they're incredibly confident when they're making it. And I suppose there's something for me about this figurine, and Moche pottery in general, that feels kind of familiar to me as an Englishman. It feels like a culture that has a very strong community bond, with lots of joking and human sacrifice!"

Well, maybe he's right! Grayson Perry naturally warms to the accomplished confidence of these potters, but I'm not quite so certain as he is about the jokey side of Moche pottery. These pots seem to have been made entirely for burials and sacrifice - and to be about life and death at its most solemn.