Cleveland Museum of Art

Headdress Ornament

Date

c. 300 BCE–200 CE

Medium

hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy

Culture

Peru, South Coast, Paracas

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Gold ornaments have been discovered among the innermost wrappings of Paracas mummy-bundles, and were probably personal possessions of the deceased. The embossed image in the center of each ornament is a deity face, characterized by protruding eyes and a grinning, toothy mouth. Snakelike appendages emanate from the face. Figures embroidered on Paracas garments are frequently depicted with similarly shaped ornaments, either worn above the forehead or brandished in one hand.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.