The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Plaque

Plaque

c. 500–200 BCE
(?), Chavín style (900-200 BCE)
hammered and cut gold
Overall: 21.8 x 10.8 cm (8 9/16 x 4 1/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1946.117
Location: 232 Andean

Description

These plaques showing a powerful Chavín deity may come from a group of gold objects found in a lavish tomb in the 1920s. One is shaped as the deity’s fanged head, its fur transformed into sixteen serpents that edge the plaque. On the other, the deity’s visually elusive body also appears: the clawed hands over the chest may clutch a horizontal staff, an emblem of authority; across the waist is a belt that sprouts serpents; and beneath are the legs and feet, which stand atop fanged masks.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 345 archive.org
    William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and Ralph T. Coe. The Imagination of Primitive Man: A Survey of the Arts of the Non-Literate Peoples of the World. Kansas City, Mo: The Museum, 1962. Mentioned: p. 160, cat. no. 267
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 296 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 296 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 399 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
  • Peru: Les Incas. Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium (organizer) (September 21, 1990-January 20, 1991).
    Brussells, Belgium: Museum royaux d'art; September 13, 1990.(the shipping date) exhibition catalogue- "Peru- Les Incas".
    Treasures of Peruvian Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 23-April 3, 1966).
    Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23-April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."
    The Imagination of Primitive Man. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (January 18-February 25, 1962).
    Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art; January 18-February25, 1962. "The Imagination of Primitive Man", cat. no. 267, p. 160, no repr. January 3, 1962. (shipping request date).
    Dallas, TX: Neiman-Marcus Co.; 1959. "South American Fortnight." no repr.
    New York, NY: The Museum of Modern Art; 1954. "Ancient Arts of the Andes."
    Cincinnati, OH: The Taft Museum; October 6- November Ancient 19, 1950. "American Gold and Jade." cat.no. 42, pg 18, no repr.
  • {{cite web|title=Plaque|url=false|author=|year=c. 500–200 BCE|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1946.117