This type of globular vessel in white clay with black decoration is characteristic of the Chancay style, which developed in the central valleys of the Peruvian coast during the Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000 - 1450).

Together with small figures also in terracotta (commonly called "cuchimilcos"), a great number of textiles and other objects formed part of the funerary possessions, all of which reproduced the same iconography.

Among the most important iconographic motifs of this style are precisely the birds and the schematic undulations in diagonal rows which decorate the globular mouth of the vessel. These are schematic images of small seabirds that reflect the close relationship these peoples had with the coastal areas they inhabited.

The rhythmic alternation of the different decorative motifs (as can be seen in this case) is a particular characteristic of the Andean art of this period: the regular repetition of small-sized identical figures (besides the birds, we also find fish, felines and monkeys, to mention but the most common figures) also appears in other contemporary styles, such as the Chimú or the Chincha.