Gold Pectoral with Zoomorphic Face
Chavín
c. 500 BCE
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
27.9 × 25.4 cm (11 × 10 in.)
Classification
pectoral
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
184361
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The archaeological site of Chavín de Huántar, high in a valley in the northern Andes of Peru, was a seat of economic, political, and religious power, giving rise to art and symbolic imagery that deeply affected the Andean world between 900 and 200 BCE. The rulers of Chavín brought about a cultural synthesis, adapting architectural and sculptural forms that had been associated with ruler-ship by the urban coastal societies of Peru for at least a thousand years. Artists created a new imagery, deri...