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Rain of the Moon: Silver in Ancient Peru
Nose ornament with shrimp, 2nd–3rd century; Moche
Vicús region; from Loma Negra, Piura Valley
Silver, gold, greenstone; 4 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (12.1 x 18.4 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206.1236)
Description Description
The Moche inhabited the arid desert coast of northern Peru and depended on products from the sea for food and trade. Sea creatures of all kinds played an important role in their mythology and are frequent themes in their art. On this nose ornament, two realistically rendered shrimp are worked in sheet gold tabbed through slits to the silver crescent.
Pair of earflares with condors, 2nd–3rd century; Moche
Vicús region; from Loma Negra, Pirua Valley
Gilt copper, silver, gold, shell inlay; Diam. 3 in. (7.6 cm), L. with shaft 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
(1979.206.1245, .1246)
Traditional Moche finery included large circular earflares worn in the distended earlobes of royal men and women. The shafts, often of substantial size, balanced the weights of the decorated frontals. Moche metalsmiths were among the most inventive and skilled in ancient Peru, developing sophisticated techniques for joining the three basic metals they worked: gold, copper, and silver. Gold and silver were used as a foreground or a background on ornaments. On these technically complex earflares, the front plates are made of sheet gold to which repoussé silver condors are tabbed. The back plates and shafts, of gilded copper, are also joined in this manner.
Warrior plaque, 7th–10th century; Wari
Silver; 10 1/4 x 7 3/8 in. (26 x 18.7 cm)
The Glassell Collection
This rare plaque is in the form of a broad-shouldered warrior holding a spear thrower in his right hand and an oblong shield with stylized repoussé faces in his left. His flat body is covered with a long tunic featuring an interlocked hook design and a double belt with a diamond pattern. The eyes probably were once inlaid, perhaps with shell and semiprecious stone. The head is crowned by a four-cornered hat with a diamond and stepped-triangle pattern. It is not known how this handsome object functioned in ancient times; two perforations at the top of the hat suggest that it was attached to a backing.
Deer vessel, 14th–15th century; Chimú
North Coast
Silver; H. 5 in. (12.7 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.160)
Chimú silver vessels range in shape from plain, elegant flared vases to naturalistically rendered animal and human forms. This pleasing deer vessel, fabricated when silver production had reached its peak, displays the naturalism that characterized similar works in ceramic created by earlier cultures on the North Coast. Deer are rare in Chimú art but appear frequently in the art of the Moche, who depicted them naturalistically and anthropomorphized, in hunting and in combat scenes with ritualistic associations. It is not known whether the animal had the same meaning in the Chimú culture.
Panpiper vessel, 14th–15th century; Chimú
Silver, malachite inlay; H. 8 1/4 in. (20.9 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.219)
Description
Alternate Views Description
Elaborate vessels such as this one, which often have a short cutout section on the rim for pouring, probably were used in courtly or ceremonial drinking rituals before being placed in the tomb of an important individual. This vessel is made of many separate preformed sections joined by welding and soldering.
Vessel in the form of an outstretched figure, 14th–15th century; Chimú
Silver, gold alloy; 4 1/2 x 8 in. (11.4 x 20.3 cm)
Eugene Chesrow
Vessels in the form of human figures in a variety of postures have been common on Peru's North Coast since the second millennium B.C., but those in the shape of an outstretched figure are rare. The meaning of this posture is not understood. The male figure, shown lying on his stomach, legs fully extended and bent arms crossed over each other, holds his head upright. He wears a cap made of a gold alloy that is held in place by a chin strap. The vessel is made of eleven separately shaped pieces of sheet silver joined mechanically or by soldering. The underside of the vessel shows the figure wearing a loincloth decorated with a dotted pattern.
Beaker with repoussé decoration, 14th–15th century; Chimú
Silver; H. 7 in. (17.8 cm), Diam. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
Denver Art Museum
Elaborate beakers such as this one were used in ritual contexts at courts and temples during the lives of important Chimú rulers and were placed in their tombs as offerings. This example is made of a single sheet of silver and has a recessed spout at the rim on one side for pouring. The relief decoration was created by hammering or pressing the metal into a bed of resilient material, such as pitch or soft wood. The surface was worked from the front and back with different chasing tools, such as tracers, punches, and scribers.
Double-walled beaker with repoussé decoration, 14th–15th century; Lambayeque (Sicán)/Chimú
Silver; H. 6 in. (15.2 cm), Diam.
5 1/2 in. (14 cm)
Substantial numbers of beakers in precious metal, particularly gold, have been recovered from elite burials in the Lambayeque Valley. Dense overall decoration and narrative scenes, as on this beaker, are unusual in Lambayeque art; overall decoration is more frequently seen on later Chimú works, though usually in the form of repeated motifs. The almond-shaped eyes, a distinguishing feature of the Lambayeque style, of what appear to be the protagonists in the scenes support the attribution to the Lambayeque culture. The vessel was probably made at a time when the Chimú controlled Lambayeque territory.
Ear ornaments, 14th–15th century; Chimú
Silver, gold; Diam. 4 3/4 in. (12.1 cm), L. with shaft 2 1/2 in. (6.4 cm)
The Michael C. Rochefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978. 412.188, 189)
Ear ornaments have been part of the ritual attire of prominent individuals in Andean cultures since at least the first millennium B.C. and they remained popular until the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. They were made of the most precious materials available to the wearer. Those made by the Chimú on the North Coast are often large and ostentatious. The shafts on these ornaments are among the thickest known.
Wooden litter back, 14th–15th century; Chimú
North-Central Coast; reportedly found in the Huarmey Valley
Wood, spondylus shell, feathers, silver, cinnabar; 20 1/8 x 41 3/8 in. (51.1 x 105.1 cm)
Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts (52-30-30/7348)
Image should not be altered in any manner or reproduced without written permission from: Peabody Museum, Harvard University; 11 Divinity Avenue; Cambridge, MA 02138
Copyright: President & Fellows of Harvard College Peabody Museum, Harvard University 2000
In many societies that do not have draft animals or wheeled vehicles, important individuals are carried in litters. In ancient Peru, the backrests of such litters, made of wood, were often embellished with carvings, colorful feather work, and precious metal appliqués. Few examples survive. Carved from a single slab of wood, this backrest has eighteen small bird figures, probably macaws, around the border. They were once covered with tiny feathers of the blue and yellow macaw, a tropical bird whose natural habitat is the eastern slopes of the Andes. In the center is a cutout sheet-silver panel showing a tall human figure, probably a ruler, under an awning fringed with strings of small spondylus beads. He is flanked by attendants and anthropomorphized birds. At the bottom are cord lashings that held this upright piece to the crossbeams that formed the supports of the base of the litter. It is possible that the block of wood for this backrest was brought to the North Coast from the eastern slopes of the Andes, since trees large enough to produce planks of this size are rare in Peru's desert coast.
Disk, 14th–15th century; Chimú
Silver; Diam. 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm)
Gift and Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1966, 1977 (66.196.44)
This impressive disk is said to have been part of a group of more than twenty recovered from elite burials on Peru's North Coast. Four different designs appear on them. The layout of the design is the same on all four disks. Four concentric bands or registers encircle an undecorated central boss. The motifs repeated within each band differ. The use of repeated designs is indicative of Chimú art. The iconography on two disks relates to the sea and marine activity while the imagery on these two disks focuses on human figures, land animals, birds, and mythological beings. An unusual feature on this disk is that the human figures in profile in the first register and the frontal figures in the second from the center are all missing their right arms and have disproportionately large thumbs on their left hands. The meaning of these details is not known.
Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1969 (1978.412.144)
Since this disk—part of a group of more than twenty recovered from elite burials on Peru's north coast—was not excavated, little is known about its archaeological context or use. The perforations, usually paired holes, suggest it was once attached to a backing. It may have covered a ceremonial shield or was sewn onto a banner or attached to a pole and displayed during special rituals.
Model of a funeral procession, 14th–15th century; Chancay or Chimú
Silver, cotton, reeds, feathers; 5 7/8 x 10 1/8 x 23 1/2 in. (15 x 25.6 x
59.7 cm)
Krannert Art Museum, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
This model shows the funeral procession of an important person. His empty litter is being borne behind a casket carried on the shoulders of two mournful men. Inside the casket are two small vessels, a reference to the long-standing Andean tradition of burying offerings, often in the form of vessels, with the dead. There is a pillow in the coffin but no body; perhaps the procession is on its way to pick up the mortuary bundle of the deceased. Three of the litterbearers, two of whom wear headdresses, have square faces and the other three figures have round faces—perhaps a distinction between social rank or ethnic group. Similar scenes of litter- and pallbearers are also known in ceramic.
Pair of ear ornaments with inlays, 13th–15th century; Chincha/Ica (?)
South Coast
Silver, stone, shell; Diam. 2 1/4 in.
(5.8 cm)
Promised Gift of Lucille and Martin E. Kantor
The spool shape and the stippled and traced design on the backs of these ear ornaments are typical of the South Coast. Colorful mosaic inlay on frontals is, however, more frequently found on ornaments from the North Coast. The sides of the ornaments are slightly concave to provide better hold when worn in distended earlobes. The ornaments contain clappers.
Long-haired llama, mid-15th–early 16th century; Inka, reportedly from the island of Titicaca
South Highlands
Silver; H. 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm)
American Museum of Natural History, New York
Arguably the finest example of Inka silversmithing in existence, this sculpture was reportedly found near a rock sacred to the Inka, on the island of Titicaca, where it had been placed with other objects as an offering to the gods. The striated crimped silver sheet suggests the hanging fleece of the long-haired llama. Llamas are highland animals associated with the mountains, considered sacred in Peru because they were the abode of the gods and revered ancestors and the wellspring of the rains.
Female figure, early 16th century; Inka, from Cerro El Plomo
Chile
Found in 1954 near a child burial at an altitude of 17,700 feet on Cerro El Plomo
Silver, camelid hair, feathers, spondylus shell; H. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago
This figurine reportedly was discovered in 1954 near a child's burial on the mountaintop of Cerro El Plomo in central Chile at an altitude of 17,700 feet (5400 m). A gift to the mountain gods, it was buried there by the Inka with the body of a nine-year-old boy and other ritual offerings. At the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532, the Inka ruled a vast and diverse territory stretching from northern Equador to central Chile. The high altitude and subfreezing temperatures at the burial site account for the excellent state of preservation of both the mummy and the artifacts.