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Source Description
This small metal ornament represents a human figure wearing a cap, a tunic decorated with bird images, and a necklace of orange-pink spondylus shell sections. Such necklaces are found in Paracas mummy bundles, and are frequently represented in Paracas embroidered images. Spondylus shell does not grow in the cold water off the coast of Peru, and had to be imported hundreds of miles from what is now Ecuador. Virtually all ancient Peruvian cultures treasured spondylus shell for its color and rarity, and as a symbol of fertility.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
119673
label
Figurine Plaque
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
119673
contentType
object
title
Figurine Plaque
description
This small metal ornament represents a human figure wearing a cap, a tunic decorated with bird images, and a necklace of orange-pink spondylus shell sections. Such necklaces are found in Paracas mummy bundles, and are frequently represented in Paracas embroidered images. Spondylus shell does not grow in the cold water off the coast of Peru, and had to be imported hundreds of miles from what is now Ecuador. Virtually all ancient Peruvian cultures treasured spondylus shell for its color and rarity, and as a symbol of fertility.
date
c. 300 BCE–200 CE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80014825
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 6.8 x 4.2 cm (2 11/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
cul
Peru, South Coast, Paracas, with modern etched enhancement(?)
accession
1940.512
Source extras
tec
hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
tombstone
Figurine Plaque, c. 300 BCE–200 CE. Peru, South Coast, Paracas, with modern etched enhancement(?). Hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy; overall: 6.8 x 4.2 cm (2 11/16 x 1 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection, 1940.512
collection
AA - Andes
didYouKnow
<em>Tumbaga</em> is an alloy made by blending gold with copper, which may give the gold a rosy hue.
creditline
The Norweb Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:10:41.031000
sourceId
119673
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Andes
med
hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c765b0891f821581