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Plaque
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePlaque, c. 500–200 BCE. Peru, North Coast, Chongoyape(?), Chavín style (900-200 BCE). Hammered and cut gold; overall: 21.8 x 10.8 cm (8 9/16 x 4 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1946.117
