Minneapolis Institute of Art

Knife

Lambayeque artist

Date

8th–10th century

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Lambayeque

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A tumi is a knife with a flared, semicircular blade that was used in ceremonies throughout the ancient Andes. Lambayeque artists working in northwest Peru made especially dramatic and opulent examples for elite members of society. Lambayeque metalworkers were technologically advanced; they developed a unique type of bronze by alloying copper and arsenic, from which this blade was cast. Originally, this tumi was likely capped by an elaborate finial depicting an important Lambayeque deity, known as the Sicán Lord, executed in materials such as gold, silver, and turquoise Americas

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