Pectoral
800–500 BCE
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
H. 9 × W. 9 1/4 × D. 1/8 in. (22.9 × 23.5 × 0.3 cm)
Classification
Metal-Ornaments
Culture
Chavín
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, Gift of Jan Mitchell, 1999
Accession Number
1999.365
Art Historical Context
This exquisite gold pectoral, crafted by Chavín artists around 800–500 BCE, hails from the ancient Chavín culture of Peru's northern highlands. Measuring a delicate 9 by 9¼ inches, it served as a chest ornament, likely worn by elites or priests during religious ceremonies at influential sites like Chavín Huántar. As one of the earliest complex societies in the Andes, the Chavín unified diverse regional styles through shared religious iconography, blending human and animal forms into powerful supernatural motifs. Hammered from thin sheets of gold—a precious metal symbolizing the sun and divine...