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Details / Information for Pin Ornament

Pin Ornament

c. 500–200 BCE

Peru, North Highlands, Chavín de Huantar(?), Chavín style

Medium
hammered and cut gold
Measurements
Overall: 7.2 cm (2 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tishman 1958.180
Public Domain
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Location
232 Andean
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Description

There seems to be a link between Chavín religion and appearance of the Andes’ first large precious-metal objects, made using revolutionary new metallurgical processes. Chavín may have developed these technical innovations to express the inexpressible, the "wholly other" nature of its religion. In many areas, elite men and women wore the ornaments as emblems of their ties to this religion, and eventually were buried with them. These 16 objects, along with three others not in the museum’s collection, are said to have come as a group from Chavín itself.
A gold ornament features a stylized human head atop a long, tapering shaft. Suggesting a face, the head has horizontal slits for eyes and mouth, a prominent nose, and small rectangular ears. Vertical grooves along the crown resemble hair. Below, the gold narrows into a thin, slightly curved shaft that ends in a sharp point. The metal has a warm, hammered texture and lacks fine details.

Pin Ornament

c. 500–200 BCE

Peru, North Highlands, Chavín de Huantar(?), Chavín style

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