Chavin Tembladera Gold Crown | Plume Finial, Fish Ear Ornaments
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin, Tembladera, Jequetepeque Valley, North Coast, ca. 1200–500 BCE. A composite ensemble of Andean regalia in hammered sheet gold and carved stone. The crown band is cut in a bold zigzag, a lightning bolt profile whose faceted planes catch light along every angle, and rises at center into a fan-shaped plume of slender cut fronds imitating feathers. Suspended below hang a pair of blue and white stone fish, each incised with gill arcs, scales, and a banded body, drilled through the eye for suspension. Sheet gold of this kind was worked cold, cut and burnished from a single hammered lamina. Such headdress elements likely marked elite or ritual status. The ancient components have been assembled in a modern interpretation of a crown composition and set on a custom stepped display base. Crown band: 10" C (25.4 cm C); Plume: 4" W x 6.75" H (10.2 cm W x 17.1 cm H); Fish: 2" Diam (5.1 cm Diam).
Tembladera, on the middle Jequetepeque drainage of Peru's north coast, gives its name to a distinctive body of Formative-period material contemporary with the Chavin horizon: carved stone vessels, incised bone, and thin gold ornaments recovered from cemeteries along the river. Its goldsmiths worked almost entirely in cold-hammered sheet, cutting, folding, and perforating rather than casting, an approach that made light, glittering regalia meant to move with the wearer.
The zigzag is one of the durable Andean signs, read variously as lightning, serpent, and the terraced descent of water from the highlands to the coastal valleys, and it recurs across Chavin-horizon textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Fish held the reciprocal position: the Jequetepeque runs to a coast whose maritime harvest sustained the valley's populations, and stone fish pendants appear in Formative burials as offerings and ornaments. The pairing of sky-water and sea in a single headdress is coherent Formative cosmology, though the present arrangement is a modern one.
Provenance: Private west coast collection. Ex. Ian Arundel collection, Santa Monica, CA., acquired 1950’s-1960’s by decent to Colin Arundel.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73135
Condition
All are intact, and in excellent overall condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chavin, Tembladera, Jequetepeque Valley, North Coast, ca. 1200–500 BCE. A composite ensemble of Andean regalia in hammered sheet gold and carved stone. The crown band is cut in a bold zigzag, a lightning bolt profile whose faceted planes catch light along every angle, and rises at center into a fan-shaped plume of slender cut fronds imitating feathers. Suspended below hang a pair of blue and white stone fish, each incised with gill arcs, scales, and a banded body, drilled through the eye for suspension. Sheet gold of this kind was worked cold, cut and burnished from a single hammered lamina. Such headdress elements likely marked elite or ritual status. The ancient components have been assembled in a modern interpretation of a crown composition and set on a custom stepped display base. Crown band: 10" C (25.4 cm C); Plume: 4" W x 6.75" H (10.2 cm W x 17.1 cm H); Fish: 2" Diam (5.1 cm Diam).
Tembladera, on the middle Jequetepeque drainage of Peru's north coast, gives its name to a distinctive body of Formative-period material contemporary with the Chavin horizon: carved stone vessels, incised bone, and thin gold ornaments recovered from cemeteries along the river. Its goldsmiths worked almost entirely in cold-hammered sheet, cutting, folding, and perforating rather than casting, an approach that made light, glittering regalia meant to move with the wearer.
The zigzag is one of the durable Andean signs, read variously as lightning, serpent, and the terraced descent of water from the highlands to the coastal valleys, and it recurs across Chavin-horizon textiles, ceramics, and metalwork. Fish held the reciprocal position: the Jequetepeque runs to a coast whose maritime harvest sustained the valley's populations, and stone fish pendants appear in Formative burials as offerings and ornaments. The pairing of sky-water and sea in a single headdress is coherent Formative cosmology, though the present arrangement is a modern one.
Provenance: Private west coast collection. Ex. Ian Arundel collection, Santa Monica, CA., acquired 1950’s-1960’s by decent to Colin Arundel.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73135
Condition
All are intact, and in excellent overall condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
