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:			

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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: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 8.8 x 14 cm (3 7/16 x 5 1/2 in.)
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

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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.
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RELATED WORKS

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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