Headdress Ornament (c. 300 BCE–200 CE): Art, History and Details

Headdress Ornament (c. 300 BCE–200 CE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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.

Object facts

• Title: Headdress Ornament
• Date: c. 300 BCE–200 CE
• Culture: Peru, South Coast, Paracas
• Type: Jewelry
• Technique: hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy
• Dimensions: Overall: 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.)
• Collection: AA - Andes
• Department: Art of the Americas
• Accession number: 1938.432

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.