Spatula Item Number: Sf541 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Fragment; a solid metal bird form with generalized wing and tail shapes. The head has large ringed eyes and thick, hooked beak. The tail is slightly bent. The underside has a broken surface with some filed areas. The casting is quite rough and the surface is pitted. A piece of off-white string is wrapped around the neck.
History Of Use
Probably a finial that has been broken off a spatula like ones from the Inca site of Machu Piccchu (Bingham). Such spatulas were used for dipping lime out of a bottle as part of the coca leaf chewing process.
Narrative
Inca Style, Late Horizon; 1476-1532 C.E.
Iconographic Meaning
The ringed eyes and thick beak are consistent with representations of parrots.
Item History
What
- Name
- Spatula
- Identification Number
- Sf541
- Type of Item
- spatula
- Material
- bronze metal and fibre
- Manufacturing Technique
- cast
- Overall
- height 1.2 cm, width 1.5 cm, depth 2.6 cm
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Peru
When
- Creation Date
- between 1476 and 1532
- 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
- 0711/0044