Kero is the Quechua term for a beaker-shaped vessel or tall cup. Keros have been made since the earliest times of Peruvian culture and were most frequently made in pairs. They were used to solidify social relationships between two high-ranking individuals who would fill their keros with chicha, a fermented maize beverage, and drink together; an act and symbol of balanced and mutual reciprocity. Often given as gifts at significant events, keros were personal items that would be used at ceremonies during a person's lifetime and then buried with the individual at their death. Keros were made from metal, ceramic, and wood, but examples of the latter are rare because the material is more vulnerable to decomposition. This exquisitely carved vessel was made by a Wari or Tiwanaku artist and depicts the head of a supernatural being wearing an elaborate headband. The design of the headband -- a flying figure and interlocking feline and bird motifs -- resembles intricately woven textiles from the Andean highlands. The zoomorphic tears streaming from the being's eyes and the balls of mucus suspended from its nostrils suggest that it is in the midst of a hallucinatory trance.