The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 19, 2024
Nose Ornament with Serpents and Long-necked Birds
c. 100–300 CE
Overall: 7.6 x 13.9 cm (3 x 5 1/2 in.)
Location: 232 Andean
Description
A crucial element of Moche royal regalia was the nose ornament, whose imagery varies from benign to predatory. One ornament here depicts a human head, perhaps a ruler’s portrait, flanked by birds that attack human victims. In another, two supernatural decapitators brandish knives over a row of severed human heads. The third is an elegant composition that combines serpents with long-necked water birds. The Moche were among the Andes’ most inventive metalsmiths, and they developed many complex techniques for joining and enriching the surfaces of metals, which they usually worked by hammering rather than casting. The gold-and-silver ornaments were made by first joining gold and silver sheets through heating and hammering. Then came the relief decoration, followed by the selective removal of metal along the joins. Finally, the ornament was trimmed and polished.- Bergh, Susan E., "From the Realm of the Condor", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 47 no. 08, October 2007 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 7 archive.orgCleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 335
- Princeton, NJ: Princenton University Art Museum; February 22- June 8, 1997. "In Celebration: Works of Art from the Collection of Princeton Alumni and Friends of the Art Museum of Princeton University." no repr.
- {{cite web|title=Nose Ornament with Serpents and Long-necked Birds|url=false|author=|year=c. 100–300 CE|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.177