Chavin Bone Ear Ornaments, Mosaic Turquoise Inlay (pr)

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin, 1200 BCE. A matched pair of slender tubular ear ornaments cut from long bone, each shaft ringed near the flared terminal with narrow registers of inlaid green turquoise tesserae set in fine mosaic bands. The upper rim of each is carved with a stepped, wave-like geometric fret, a motif recurrent in the visual vocabulary of the northern Peruvian highlands. Warm ivory-toned surfaces carry a deep earthen patina. Ornaments of this scale were worn through distended earlobes and served as emblems of rank, the imported turquoise itself signalling access to long-distance exchange. A rare surviving type in bone, presented together on a custom fitted display pedestal. Size: 4" L x 1" W (10.2 cm L x 2.5 cm W).

Chavin culture radiated outward from the ceremonial center of Chavin de Huantar in the Peruvian highlands, drawing pilgrims and trade goods across the Andes and coastal valleys. Turquoise and related blue-green stones travelled considerable distances into the highlands and were reserved largely for elite adornment and ritual paraphernalia, so mosaic inlay of this kind marks the wearer as a person of consequence within that religious and political sphere. Elongated ear ornaments are among the most durable signals of status in Andean art, a convention that persists for two millennia after Chavin and culminates in the great gold and shell earspools of the Moche and the Inca "orejones".

Provenance: Ex. H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, active 1950’s - 1960’s.

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Item #

73161

Condition
Some remaining stone insets. Some losses to the mosaics and some wear to the carved tips, otherwise intact.

Buyer's Premium
30%