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Figurine Plaque

c. 300 BCE–200 CE
(?)
hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
Overall: 6.8 x 4.2 cm (2 11/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1940.512
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Tumbaga is an alloy made by blending gold with copper, which may give the gold a rosy hue.

Description

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.
Figurine Plaque

Figurine Plaque

c. 300 BCE–200 CE

Peru, South Coast, Paracas, with modern etched enhancement(?)

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