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Headdress Ornament
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Gold ornaments have been discovered among the innermost wrappings of Paracas mummy-bundles, and were probably personal possessions of the deceased. The embossed image in the center of each ornament is a deity face, characterized by protruding eyes and a grinning, toothy mouth. Snakelike appendages emanate from the face. Figures embroidered on Paracas garments are frequently depicted with similarly shaped ornaments, either worn above the forehead or brandished in one hand.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineHeaddress Ornament, c. 300 BCE–200 CE. Peru, South Coast, Paracas. Hammered and embossed gold-copper alloy; overall: 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1938.432
