Nose ornament with nose ornaments

Nose ornaments, usually suspended from the nasal septum, served as indicators of status and identity in communities on Peru’s North Coast in antiquity. Such ornaments often obscured the mouth when worn, leading some scholars to suggest they also played a protective role, guarding a vulnerable opening to the body. Made from precious metals, these crescent-shaped works were the focus of immense creative exploration in the first millennium of the Common Era.

This oval-shaped nose ornament is itself adorned with miniature nose ornaments suspended on copper wires. The primary piece was created in a style associated with the Vicús culture, but the miniature dangling crescents are characteristic of the Moche. The work reflects the stimulating interaction between these traditions on Peru’s far North Coast, but is also a witty, self-referential conceit.

References and 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.

Kaulicke, Peter. “The Vicús-Mochica Relationship.” In Andean Archaeology III, edited by William H. Isbell and Helene H. Silverman, pp. 85-111. Boston: Springer, 2006.

Quilter, Jeffrey, and Alexis Hartford. "Nose Ornaments: A General Typology and Moche Case Study." Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics 77, no. 1 (2022), pp. 283-302.