Artwork Page for Ear Ornament(?)

Details / Information for Ear Ornament(?)

Ear Ornament(?)

500–200 BCE

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

Medium
hammered and cut gold
Measurements
Diameter: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.); Overall: 1.6 cm (5/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Tishman 1958.186
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 hammered gold ornament is shaped like a shallow dish with a central circular hole. A flared outer rim surrounds a secondary raised ring that frames the opening. The warm gold surface is smooth but uneven, showing fine scratches and dark brownish discolorations in the recesses. Though generally circular, the silhouette is slightly flattened on one side, giving the object an asymmetrical profile.

Ear Ornament(?)

500–200 BCE

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

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