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Details / Information for Plaque

Plaque

c. 500–200 BCE

Peru, North Coast, Chongoyape(?), Chavín style

(900-200 BCE)
Medium
hammered and cut gold
Measurements
Overall: 12.5 x 13.8 cm (4 15/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1938.431
Public Domain
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Location
232 Andean
Print
?

Did You Know?

Hammered gold ornaments have been produced in the Andes since 1500 BCE.

Description

These plaques showing a powerful Chavín deity may come from a group of gold objects found in a lavish tomb in the 1920s. One is shaped as the deity’s fanged head, its fur transformed into sixteen serpents that edge the plaque. On the other, the deity’s visually elusive body also appears: the clawed hands over the chest may clutch a horizontal staff, an emblem of authority; across the waist is a belt that sprouts serpents; and beneath are the legs and feet, which stand atop fanged masks.
A small gold plaque depicts a face with fangs, framed by many serpent heads. The plaque is flat with raised designs.

Plaque

c. 500–200 BCE

Peru, North Coast, Chongoyape(?), Chavín style (900-200 BCE)

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