Peru, North Coast, Chongoyape(?), Chavín style (900-200 BCE) / c. 500–200 BCE
Plaque
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Plaque as metalwork (Peru, North Coast, Chongoyape(?), Chavín style (900-200 BCE) · c. 500–200 BCE).
These plaques showing a powerful Chavín deity may come from a group of gold objects found in a lavish tomb in the 1920s. One is shaped as the deity’s fanged head, its fur transformed into sixteen serpents that edge the plaque.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as hammered and cut gold.
The museum's collection notes: These plaques showing a powerful Chavín deity may come from a group of gold objects found in a lavish tomb in the 1920s. One is shaped as the deity’s fanged head, its fur transformed into sixteen serpents that edge the plaque. On the other, the deity’s visually elusive body also appears: the clawed hands over the chest may clutch a horizontal staff, an emblem of authority; across the waist is a belt that sprouts serpents; and beneath are the legs and feet, which stand atop fanged masks.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPlaqueOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.