The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2024

Ornament

Ornament

c. 300 BCE–100 CE
hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
Overall: 8.8 x 4.8 cm (3 7/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
The Norweb Collection 1940.513
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

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

Description

With its grinning mouth and long, protruding tongue, the face embossed on this fragmentary ornament resembles linear images painted on mummy masks and woven on doublecloth tunics and mantles. Both painted mummy masks and doublecloth garments are most often found in the Ica Valley, a short distance south of the Paracas Peninsula. The ornament's original function is uncertain.
  • ?-1940
    Raymond Henry Norweb [1894-1983] and Emery May Holden Norweb [1895-1984], Cleveland OH, 1940, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1940
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • {{cite web|title=Ornament|url=false|author=|year=c. 300 BCE–100 CE|access-date=16 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1940.513