Pin

In the burials of Recuay elites, the most common metal objects are pins. These pins, known as tupus in Quechua, have been used to fasten women’s garments for some two thousand years. Although most metal objects from the cultures of this region (such as Chavín and Moche) were made from hammered sheet metal, Recuay metalsmiths produced most of their works by copper casting, creating strong implements, such as this tupu, with delicate ornamentation. (For additional examples see Carcedo 1999, pp. 406-407). Faint traces of gold indicate that the pin was gilded. Like most Recuay tupus, this object is one of a pair (for the mate, please see MMA 1987.394.591).

Here, the artist depicted an animal in a rampant pose, duplicated, mirrored, and combined to form another figure that resembles a face with an open mouth flanked by snake heads. This sophisticated compositional interplay has antecedents in Chavín art, which preceded Recuay in this region centuries earlier. This pin is somewhat unusual, as most Recuay tupus have flat heads with images rather than the flat lateral image displayed here. The small hole at the bottom of the braid under the creature’s chin served as a place to secure a thread that was sewn onto the garment thereby preventing the pin from being lost.

References and Further Reading

Carcedo, Paloma. Cobre del antiguo Perú-The Copper of Ancient Peru. Lima: AFP Integra, 1999.

Grieder, Terence. The Art and Archaeology of Pashash. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1978.

Lau, George F. "The Work of Surfaces: Object Worlds and Techniques of Enhancement in the Ancient Andes." Journal of Material Culture 15, no. 3 (2010), pp. 259-286.

Lau, George F. Andean Expressions: Art and Archaeology of the Recuay Culture. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2011.

Lau, George F. "Metal in the Recuay Culture of Ancient Peru: Art, Imagery and Social Context." In Archaeological Interpretations: Symbolic Meaning within Andes Prehistory, edited by Peter Eeckhout, pp. 145-179. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2020.

Lau, George F. "The Recuay Culture of Peru's North-Central Highlands: A Reappraisal of Chronology and its Implications." Journal of Field Archaeology 29, no. 1-2 (2004): 177-202.