Earflare Frontal

This delicate openwork earflare was created from the shell of the Florida horse conch snail (also known as the giant horse conch, Triplofusus giganteus). Three concentric circles radiate from its center, each bordered by two thin lines of incisions filled with a red cinnabar pigment and a band of drilled openwork triangles, carved in alternating orientation. An iron-based metal (likely pyrite) fills the center of the earflare and also likely served as an inlay within the triangles, although only a few triangles maintain the metal inlay. The edges of the outermost circle are scalloped, each with a lightly incised circle at the center, also painted with cinnabar.

As the name suggests, this piece would have hung in the ear of the wearer as one half of a pair, balanced by a counterweight behind the ear to keep the piece upright and in place. The light weight of shell counteracts the piece’s large diameter, minimizing the perceived weight of the piece. When worn, the circular earflare would have eclipsed the ear from sight, and the metal inlays would have caught and reflected light, catching the eye of viewers nearby. Unfortunately, the location of this piece’s mate is unknown.

To produce this earflare, the artist would have cut and shaped the surface using basalt, obsidian, and flint tools, and then added the additional geometric designs through carving, drilling, and incising techniques. Like other Huastec shell pieces in the Met’s collection (such as the nearby armbands, MMA 1979.206.930 and 1979.206.929), this earflare highlights the importance of shell as a high-status material, sought after by many different cultures in Mexico, Guatemala, and North America. Similarities in style between objects found in all of these regions suggest that these groups were engaged in cross-cultural interactions and were well aware of each other’s artistic styles and cultural systems, reminding the modern viewer of the interconnected nature of the ancient world.

Catherine Nuckols, Sylvan C. Coleman and Pam Coleman Fellow in the History of Art and Visual Culture, 2025



Published References:

Smith, Paul J., Robert Riley, Paul S. Wingert, Oppi Untracht, Diane Lee Carroll, Frederick J. Dockstader, and Diane Waldman. The Art of Personal Adornment (New York: American Craftsmen’s Council, Museum of Contemporary Crafts, 1965), 45.

Further Reading:

Cabrera, Patricio Dávila. "Trapezoidal Shell Pectorals from the Huasteca." In The Huasteca: Culture, History, and Interregional Exchange, edited by Katherine A. Faust, Kim N. Richter, 128-151. University of Oklahoma Press, 2015.

Velázquez, Adrián. Tipología de los objetos de concha del Templo Mayor de Tenochtitlan. Colección Científica 392. Mexico City: Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 1999.

Velázquez Castro, Adrián. "Trabajos huastecos en concha." Arqueología mexicana 14, no. 79 (2006): 54-57.

Velazquez, Adrian. "El trabajo de la concha y los estilos tecnológicos del México prehispánico." Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 78 (2007): 77S- 82S.

Velázquez Castro, Adrián. "The study of shell object manufacturing techniques from the perspective of experimental archaeology and work traces." In Archaeology, new approaches in theory and techniques, edited by Imma Ollich-Castanyer, 229-250. InTech, 2012.