Bird ornament

The use of filigree or metal wire is a feature of ancient metalworking in the Piura Mountains in the northernmost reaches of Peru, where the style was known as Frías. Ornaments are often composed of a series of thin sheets soldered together; fine wires of the same metal were then soldered to the resulting form. These objects bear a strong resemblance to pieces from the Tolita-Tumaco and Zenú cultures in Ecuador and Colombia. Indeed, recent studies have shown that metalworkers from the north brought their technological know-how to the Piura region, where they made gold objects reflecting their native iconographic traditions but using local raw materials.

This ornament in the shape of a bird, one of three (see also MMA 1979.206.1251 and 1979.206.1252), was made from hammered gold sheet that was cut and shaped; individual pieces were then joined through soldering. Each bird's body consists of a rectangular convex sheet on the underside and a flat sheet on top; the edges were decorated with twisted wire. Three dangles on wire loops originally decorated the tail. The neck and beak were formed by cylindrical sheets, and the head was created by joining two hemispherical sheets. The eyes are represented by tiny cylinders on each side of head. A crest down center of the head consists of curved strip with 5 or 6 tabs sticking up, edged at base on both sides with twisted wire.

Further reading:

Castillo, Luis Jaime. “Masters of the Universe: Moche Artists and Their Patrons.” In Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter, pp. 24-31. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2017.

Vetter, Luisa. “El gran hallazgo de 1956 en Piura: Nuevas preguntas sobre la metalurgia de los Andes centrales.” In Los desafíos del tiempo, el espacio y la memoria. Ensayos en homenaje a Peter Kaulicke, edited by Rafael Vega Centeno and Jalh Dulanto, pp. 505–41. Lima: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2020.

Vetter, Luisa et al. “La técnica del cobre dorado en objetos de metal usados entre el 400 AC y el 450/500 DC en la Bahía de Huanchaco, costa norte del Perú.” Chungará 55 número 4 (2023): 681-701.