Ornament Item Number: Sf614 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
A thin, flat metal plume, roughly rectangular in shape, with a narrow stalk which ends in a small broken point. Gilded surface.
History Of Use
Probably a plume for a headdress which was attached by the now broken tab. Similar plumes are common in collections from the north coast (Antze). "A chieftain's headdress with metal plumes..." (Emmerich).
Iconographic Meaning
The identification of this object as a plume derives from its shape and the use on headdresses of similarly shaped metal ornaments. Headdresses made of actual features resemble the form of these gilded ones (Mujica Gallo).
Narrative
Possibly Chimu, Middle Horizon or Late Intermediate Period; 550-1400 C.E.
Specific Techniques
The gold enriched surface was probably achieved through the deplection gilding technique from a tertiary alloy of copper, gold and silver (Lechtman).
Item History
What
- Name
- Ornament
- Identification Number
- Sf614
- Type of Item
- ornament
- Material
- gold metal, copper metal and silver metal
- Manufacturing Technique
- hammered, cut and gilded
- Overall
- height 0.3 cm, width 14.6 cm, depth 2.0 cm
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Peru
When
- Collection Date
- between 1949 and 1966
- Ownership Date
- before May 4, 1981
- Acquisition Date
- on May 4, 1981
Other
- Item Classes
- metalwork
- Condition
- poor
- Accession Number
- 0711/0116