Chimu Sheet Gold Crown Band | Caballito de Totora Wave Riders
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chimu, Chan Chan type, 1000 CE. A long band of hammered sheet gold, worked in repousse into a procession of twelve hybrid figures, half fish and half human, each riding the curl of a wave aboard a caballito de totora reed craft and grasping a sea bird. Rows of raised bosses run above and below the frieze, framing the scene in a beaded border, and the metal retains traces of red pigment caught in the recesses. Crown bands of this type were worn as headgear by Chimu elites, and their maritime imagery ties the north Peruvian coast's ruling class to the fishing economy that sustained it. Mounted on a custom display base. Size: 23" C x 1.375" L (58.4 cm C x 3.5 cm L).
The caballito de totora, a one-man craft bundled from totora reeds and straddled rather than boarded, is still built and paddled on the beaches of Huanchaco, within sight of the Chimu capital at Chan Chan. Its appearance here, ridden by fish-tailed beings, is not a genre scene but a cosmological one: the Chimu placed the sea at the center of their world, and their metalsmiths repeatedly rendered the boundary between fisherman and fish as porous.
Chan Chan, the vast adobe capital near modern Trujillo, gives its name to the type. Chimu goldsmiths were the finest in the Andes, working gold to foil thinness by hammering and annealing, then raising the design from the reverse with blunt tools over a yielding bed. Their reputation was such that the Inca, on conquering the kingdom in the later 15th century, deported Chimu metalworkers wholesale to Cusco to serve the imperial court.
The Nora and John Wise collection of South American Pre-Columbian art was established at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1975; the Wises also gave material to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The John and Nora Wise Papers document their collecting both privately and through John Wise Ltd., and record exhibitions including The John Wise Collection of Ancient Peruvian Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum (1937), World of Ancient Gold at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and Ornamental Costumes from the John Wise Collection of Ancient Peruvian Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1971-1972).
Provenance: Private American collection. Ex. Nora and John Wise Collection, 1970’s or earlier.
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 #
73228
Condition
Intact, excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Chimu, Chan Chan type, 1000 CE. A long band of hammered sheet gold, worked in repousse into a procession of twelve hybrid figures, half fish and half human, each riding the curl of a wave aboard a caballito de totora reed craft and grasping a sea bird. Rows of raised bosses run above and below the frieze, framing the scene in a beaded border, and the metal retains traces of red pigment caught in the recesses. Crown bands of this type were worn as headgear by Chimu elites, and their maritime imagery ties the north Peruvian coast's ruling class to the fishing economy that sustained it. Mounted on a custom display base. Size: 23" C x 1.375" L (58.4 cm C x 3.5 cm L).
The caballito de totora, a one-man craft bundled from totora reeds and straddled rather than boarded, is still built and paddled on the beaches of Huanchaco, within sight of the Chimu capital at Chan Chan. Its appearance here, ridden by fish-tailed beings, is not a genre scene but a cosmological one: the Chimu placed the sea at the center of their world, and their metalsmiths repeatedly rendered the boundary between fisherman and fish as porous.
Chan Chan, the vast adobe capital near modern Trujillo, gives its name to the type. Chimu goldsmiths were the finest in the Andes, working gold to foil thinness by hammering and annealing, then raising the design from the reverse with blunt tools over a yielding bed. Their reputation was such that the Inca, on conquering the kingdom in the later 15th century, deported Chimu metalworkers wholesale to Cusco to serve the imperial court.
The Nora and John Wise collection of South American Pre-Columbian art was established at the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts in 1975; the Wises also gave material to the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The John and Nora Wise Papers document their collecting both privately and through John Wise Ltd., and record exhibitions including The John Wise Collection of Ancient Peruvian Art at the Wadsworth Atheneum (1937), World of Ancient Gold at the 1964 New York World's Fair, and Ornamental Costumes from the John Wise Collection of Ancient Peruvian Textiles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1971-1972).
Provenance: Private American collection. Ex. Nora and John Wise Collection, 1970’s or earlier.
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 #
73228
Condition
Intact, excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
