COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1940.512
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Costume and Jewelry
Creator Nationality:
South American; Pre-Columbian; Paracas
Creator Name-CRT:
Peru, South Coast, Paracas
Title:
Figurine Plaque
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
c. 300 BC-AD 200
Creation Start Date:
-300
Creation End Date:
200
Materials and Techniques:
hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
Classification Term:
Jewelry
Classification Term:
Jewelry
Style or Period:
Peru, South Coast, Paracas
Style or Period Terms:
Peru, South Coast, Paracas
Dimensions:
Overall: 6.8cm x 4.2cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1940.512
Credit Line:
The Norweb Collection
Context:
This small metal ornament represents a human figure wearing a cap, a tunic decorated with bird images, and a necklace of orange-pink spondylus shell sections. Such necklaces are found in Paracas mummy bundles, and are frequently represented in Paracas embroidered images. Spondylus shell does not grow in the cold water off the coast of Peru, and had to be imported hundreds of miles from what is now Ecuador. Virtually all ancient Peruvian cultures treasured spondylus shell for its color and rarity, and as a symbol of fertility.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1940.512.tif
