IMG_7158
In Peru, the initial works of art in gold date to the mid-first millenium B.C. when personal ornaments for the head, face, and chest were made of repousse sheet gold. Such items were fabricated by many subsequent Peruvian peoples, but the kingdoms of the northern coastal valleys were particularly assiduous in their acquisition and use of precious metals. Late in the Precolumbian era, these kingdoms -- the peoples of the Lambayeque Valley or the Chimu of the Moche Valley, for example -- were so rich that dozens of precious metal objects were placed in important tombs. These funerary offerings which were ostentatious displays of wealth and power, included masks, effigy vessels, beakers, bowls, ritual knives, and staffs as well as the personal ornaments of ancient custom. By the 1530s and the arrival of the Spaniards, the highland Inka peoples dominated Peru and controlled the ownership and use of precious metals.
IMG_7158
In Peru, the initial works of art in gold date to the mid-first millenium B.C. when personal ornaments for the head, face, and chest were made of repousse sheet gold. Such items were fabricated by many subsequent Peruvian peoples, but the kingdoms of the northern coastal valleys were particularly assiduous in their acquisition and use of precious metals. Late in the Precolumbian era, these kingdoms -- the peoples of the Lambayeque Valley or the Chimu of the Moche Valley, for example -- were so rich that dozens of precious metal objects were placed in important tombs. These funerary offerings which were ostentatious displays of wealth and power, included masks, effigy vessels, beakers, bowls, ritual knives, and staffs as well as the personal ornaments of ancient custom. By the 1530s and the arrival of the Spaniards, the highland Inka peoples dominated Peru and controlled the ownership and use of precious metals.