Earflares by Unknown Artist - 400-600 CE - 4 x 6.8 cm Walters Art Museum Earflares by Unknown Artist - 400-600 CE - 4 x 6.8 cm Walters Art Museum

Earflares

gold alloy, turquoise, and stone inlay • 4 x 6.8 cm
  • Unknown Artist Unknown Artist 400-600 CE

Today we present an artifact created by the Moche civilization. It flourished in northern Peru from about 100 to 700, with its capital near present-day Moche. Many scholars contend that the Moche were not politically organized as a monolithic empire or state and they were rather a group of autonomous polities that shared a common culture.

An example of the precious metal jewelry that we present today was worn by the Moche elite. They have cast decorative edgings, hammered sheets of gold rolled into shafts, and intricate inlays of semiprecious stones. They feature a striding warrior with his club weapon thrust forward at the ready. A round shield typical of Moche combatants protects his midsection from the blows of an opponent. His conical helmet-hat is that of a high-ranking person and recalls the head covering of the Warrior Priest, the key figure in the Sacrifice Ceremony that was the culmination of Moche ritual warfare.

P.S. There are still a lot of mysteries about the Moche culture, discover their sophisticated art in our article

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