Nose Ornament

Unknown

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

Prior to the tenth century the people in southwestern Colombia lived in complex hierarchical societies. Rich burial remains in numerous status tombs indicate that the political and religious elites used the goldworking arts to underline and perpetuate their power and privilege. After about 1000 CE, new cultural influences, probably from Amazonia, spread throughout the area, dramatically changing earlier metalworking traditions.

Artist

Unknown

Date

7th–12th century

Medium

Gold

Culture

Piartal

Department

Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas

Credit line

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