Moche Copper Bell Panels, Hummingbird Design. Loma Negra
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Moche, Loma Negra, 100 CE. A matched pair of fan-shaped bell panels, each cast in copper with six globular chambers ranged in two tiers across an openwork frame. The interstices between the chambers carry incised stylized hummingbirds, birds shown in profile with long beaks and hatched wings, a decorative refinement rarely encountered on bells of this class. Deep blue-green cuprous patinas cover both surfaces. Such clustered bells were sewn or lashed to garments and regalia, and are reported to have been worn by warriors into battle so that their approach was heard before it was seen. Each panel is presented on a custom metal display base. Size: 3.5" W x 5.75" H (8.9 cm W x 14.6 cm H); 3.5" W x 6" H (8.9 cm W x 15.2 cm H).
Loma Negra, a cemetery site in the far northern Piura Valley of Peru, produced an extraordinary corpus of sheet and cast copper regalia associated with the early Moche horizon: nose ornaments, masks, backflaps, and bells of exactly this clustered type. Northern metalsmiths there worked copper with gilding and silvering techniques that would later define Andean prestige metallurgy.
The hummingbird carried weight beyond ornament in Andean thought. Its darting flight and its habit of appearing to die and revive (torpor) made it a traveler between worlds, a messenger linked to death, the ancestors, and the afterlife, and the same bird recurs in Moche painted ceramics and in the great Nazca geoglyphs to the south.
Provenance: Ex. H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, active 1950’s - 1960’s.
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 #
73184
Condition
Overall blue-green surface patinas. Both have a few very minor small holes on their reverses, otherwise intact, overall excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Pre-Columbian, Peru, Moche, Loma Negra, 100 CE. A matched pair of fan-shaped bell panels, each cast in copper with six globular chambers ranged in two tiers across an openwork frame. The interstices between the chambers carry incised stylized hummingbirds, birds shown in profile with long beaks and hatched wings, a decorative refinement rarely encountered on bells of this class. Deep blue-green cuprous patinas cover both surfaces. Such clustered bells were sewn or lashed to garments and regalia, and are reported to have been worn by warriors into battle so that their approach was heard before it was seen. Each panel is presented on a custom metal display base. Size: 3.5" W x 5.75" H (8.9 cm W x 14.6 cm H); 3.5" W x 6" H (8.9 cm W x 15.2 cm H).
Loma Negra, a cemetery site in the far northern Piura Valley of Peru, produced an extraordinary corpus of sheet and cast copper regalia associated with the early Moche horizon: nose ornaments, masks, backflaps, and bells of exactly this clustered type. Northern metalsmiths there worked copper with gilding and silvering techniques that would later define Andean prestige metallurgy.
The hummingbird carried weight beyond ornament in Andean thought. Its darting flight and its habit of appearing to die and revive (torpor) made it a traveler between worlds, a messenger linked to death, the ancestors, and the afterlife, and the same bird recurs in Moche painted ceramics and in the great Nazca geoglyphs to the south.
Provenance: Ex. H. J. Westermann collection, Germany, active 1950’s - 1960’s.
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 #
73184
Condition
Overall blue-green surface patinas. Both have a few very minor small holes on their reverses, otherwise intact, overall excellent condition.
Buyer's Premium
30%
