Day 135 - Nose ornaments
March 14, 2019
The first thing that I see when I enter gallery 357, which houses the Nathan Cummings Collection of Precolumbian Art from South and Central America, is gold -- cases and cases of it. It is a stunning display. Many of the works come from Peru, and I can easily imagine the wonderment of Pizarro and his men when they came across these gleaming objects. But I also learn that gold was worked in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Costa Rica; in fact, Columbus first saw gold pendants from this area when he sailed along the coasts of the latter two countries during his fourth voyage to the New World. The objects were largely made for the personal adornment of nobles: They include pendants, pectorals, nose ornaments, headdress ornaments, cuffs, crowns, and tiaras. But I also see two beautiful gold tweezers, which I read were probably used to pluck facial hair -- Tweezerman, move over! -- and large beakers of hammered gold. Many of the objects were found in burials -- a reminder of just how rich these people were. The ornaments are often decorated with figural and animal designs (eagles are an especially prominent motif), but some are abstract in form.
The gallery also contains a large number of ceramics, including spouted vessels; One bears the head of a mouse (!), and others are decorated with the faces of a monkey, a feline creature, and a fox. One,painted vessel, too, vividly depicts a human sacrifice: The sacrificer stands erect, holding a knife in his left hand, while his victim lies bound and supine at his feet. There's a finely woven multi-hued hat with four upright corners that was made of "camelid" wool (llama? alpaca?) in Peru or Bolivia in the 5th to 10th century -- remarkable that it has survived. Its geometric designs remind me of those on the hanging I bought in Cuzco and now can't find. There's a tabard from 15th or 16th century Peru, made of cotton and richly adorned with feathers in tones of aqua, coral, white, and black. And there are fine vessels of silver as well. But as wonderful as these things are, for me they take second place to the gold.
Today's objects are a group of three hammered gold nose ornaments made in Peru between the 1st century B.C.E. and the 1st century C.E. The smallest is perhaps 2 inches across, the largest 5 inches. Apparently, nose ornaments fell out of fashion in Peru during the second half of the first millennium. But these ones are exquisite for their workmanship -- the delicate filigree work in the top piece, the finely wrought lines and tiny circles in the lower two. How could they make gold wire so thin, I wonder? I also, wonder, more prosaically: Did these nose rings get in their wearers' way when they tried to eat?
The gallery also contains a large number of ceramics, including spouted vessels; One bears the head of a mouse (!), and others are decorated with the faces of a monkey, a feline creature, and a fox. One,painted vessel, too, vividly depicts a human sacrifice: The sacrificer stands erect, holding a knife in his left hand, while his victim lies bound and supine at his feet. There's a finely woven multi-hued hat with four upright corners that was made of "camelid" wool (llama? alpaca?) in Peru or Bolivia in the 5th to 10th century -- remarkable that it has survived. Its geometric designs remind me of those on the hanging I bought in Cuzco and now can't find. There's a tabard from 15th or 16th century Peru, made of cotton and richly adorned with feathers in tones of aqua, coral, white, and black. And there are fine vessels of silver as well. But as wonderful as these things are, for me they take second place to the gold.
Today's objects are a group of three hammered gold nose ornaments made in Peru between the 1st century B.C.E. and the 1st century C.E. The smallest is perhaps 2 inches across, the largest 5 inches. Apparently, nose ornaments fell out of fashion in Peru during the second half of the first millennium. But these ones are exquisite for their workmanship -- the delicate filigree work in the top piece, the finely wrought lines and tiny circles in the lower two. How could they make gold wire so thin, I wonder? I also, wonder, more prosaically: Did these nose rings get in their wearers' way when they tried to eat?
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