Earflare Frontal
3rd–7th century
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
Diameter 3 in. (7.62 cm)
Classification
Metal-Ornaments
Culture
Moche
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift and Bequest of Alice K. Bache, 1966, 1977
Accession Number
66.196.38
Art Historical Context
Behold the exquisite *Earflare Frontal*, by skilled Moche artists between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD Hailing from the ancient Moche culture of Peru's northern coast, this 3-inch (7.62 cm) diameter gold ornament a stunning example of pre-Columbian metalwork. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection in the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas department—generously gifted and bequeathed by Alice K Bache in 1966 and 1977—it represents the elite adornments worn by Moche nobility. The Moche were masterful metallurgists, renowned for their sophisticated techniques in shaping and ...