id: 163754 accession number: 2005.176 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2005.176 updated: 2022-01-04 17:35:43.251000 Nose Ornament with Decapitators and Human Heads, c. 100-300. Peru, North Coast, Moche culture (50-800), Early Intermediate Period (AD 0-700). Gold alloy and silver; overall: 8.8 x 14 cm (3 7/16 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2005.176 title: Nose Ornament with Decapitators and Human Heads title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 100-300 creation date earliest: 100 creation date latest: 300 current location: 232 Andean creditline: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund copyright: --- culture: Peru, North Coast, Moche culture (50-800), Early Intermediate Period (AD 0-700) technique: gold alloy and silver department: Art of the Americas collection: AA - Andes type: Metalwork find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 8.8 x 14 cm (3 7/16 x 5 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: A crucial element of Moche royal regalia was the nose ornament, whose imagery varies from benign to predatory. One ornament here depicts a human head, perhaps a ruler’s portrait, flanked by birds that attack human victims. In another, two supernatural decapitators brandish knives over a row of severed human heads. The third is an elegant composition that combines serpents with long-necked water birds. The Moche were among the Andes’ most inventive metalsmiths, and they developed many complex techniques for joining and enriching the surfaces of metals, which they usually worked by hammering rather than casting. The gold-and-silver ornaments were made by first joining gold and silver sheets through heating and hammering. Then came the relief decoration, followed by the selective removal of metal along the joins. Finally, the ornament was trimmed and polished. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.176/2005.176_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.176/2005.176_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2005.176/2005.176_full.tif