Ear ornaments with wide decorated frontals were fashionable on Peru's northern coast from Moche times on. During the ensuing Chimu era, the decoration on the frontals became complex and detailed. This example shows a frontal human figure in a central medallion; the two birds above its head stand on a serpent bar. The spiky motifs between the birds depict spondylus shells; this marine bivale was of great ritual importance in the ancient Andes.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Earflare Frontal
Date:12th–15th century
Geography:Peru
Culture:Chimú
Medium:Gold
Dimensions:D. 3/8 × Diam. 4 1/8 in. (1 × 10.5 cm)
Classification:Metal-Ornaments
Credit Line:The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
Accession Number:1979.206.719
Mirko Sors, Montevideo, Uruguay, until 1958; Nelson A. Rockefeller, New York, 1958, on loan to The Museum of Primitive Art, New York, 1958–1978
Museum of Primitive Art. "Masterpieces from the Americas," May 20, 1964–November 11, 1964.
Museum of Primitive Art. "The World of Primitive Art," July 12, 1966–September 11, 1966.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Art of Oceania, Africa and the Americas from The Museum of Primitive Art," May 10–August 17, 1969.
State Hermitage Museum. "The Gold of Ancient America," August 4, 1976–October 1, 1976.
State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. "The Gold of Ancient America," October 15, 1976–December 15, 1976.
National Historical Museum of Ukraine. "The Gold of Ancient America," January 5, 1977–March 1, 1977.
Museum of Primitive Art. Masterpieces in the Museum of Primitive Art: Africa, Oceania, North America, Mexico, Central to South America, Peru. Handbook series. New York, NY: Museum of Primitive Art, 1965, no. 127.
Pillsbury, Joanne, Timothy F. Potts, and Kim N. Richter, eds. Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2017.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.
