Headdress Ornament

Unknown

7th–12th century · Gold alloy · Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Head ornaments made of gold were an important category of personal adornments in Precolumbian America. They could be crowns or diadems or ornaments worn as part of a headdress made of organic materials, such as cloth or basketry. This ornament comes from the highlands of the southern department of Narino on the border with Ecuador. Metalworkers in this area used tumbaga sheet of high copper content to create striking nonfigurative forms of great visual appeal.

Artist

Unknown

Date

7th–12th century

Medium

Gold alloy

Culture

Piartal

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979