The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Shell with Inlaid Feline

Shell with Inlaid Feline

100 BCE–700 CE
Location: 232 Andean

Description

This ornament is made of a spondylus shell, from which the exterior surface has been carved away to reveal a layer of bright orange. The pampas cat inlaid on the surface in multicolored shell and stone has bean-shaped spots on his body, and grasps a gold gourd or fruit. In both Paracas and Nasca art, the small, non-domesticated pampas cat is strongly associated with beans and other crops. Perhaps it was thought to guard the fields from rodents and other pests.
  • Richardson, James B. People of the Andes. Montreal: St. Remy Press, 1994. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 97
    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and Frances Marzio. Miniature Size, Magical Quality: Nasca Art from the Glassell Collection. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 13
    Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 333
  • {{cite web|title=Shell with Inlaid Feline|url=false|author=|year=100 BCE–700 CE|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.567