Plaque

Item number Sf603 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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Description

Thick, gilded disc with an incised design of a creature. The creature has one oval-shaped eye, two mouths, and a zig-zag line above its head. The design fits inside an incised circular border. There is a hole above the head, near the border. The back is undecorated.

History Of Use

Discs like this have not been published but Sr. Walter Alva of the Bruning Museum in Lambayeque says this type of ornament is associated with Vicus graves. The precise use is not known although the hole suggests they were suspended. Several Vicus effigy ceramics portray a disc hung around the neck of the figure.

Narrative

Vicus style ? Early Intermediate Period, 300 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.?

Specific Techniques

This disc has a relatively thick and continuous layer of yellow-coloured metal over the surface of one side, including the incisions. The incisions are trapezoidal in cross-section and made up of a series of short, straight lines. ESM analysis (Sf597) showed surface is half gold, half copper while the interior is mostly copper with some gold and a trace of silver. Of the gilding techniques known for the Vicus area, electrochemical replacement plating is most consistent with these features.