"Thus, before scholars can consider how an ancient maker created an object, we must attempt to identify how our own assumptions about objecthood remake it in the present." -Andrew James Hamilton, New Horizons in Andean Art History, p. 51.
Andean peoples created a sophisticated metallurgical tradition with the production of a wide range of metals and metal alloys. However, it is essential to point out the key differences of metalworks used in the Andes and how they were developed in Europe and the Near East. Iron was never developed; thus, they never had an "Iron Age," but they did have copper, tin, silver, and gold. They also used metals and metal alloys primarily for ornamentation like jewelry or other status markers, as opposed to the uses in warfare and transportation as seen in early Europe and the Near East. In the Andes, soldiers traveled on foot and wore quilted cotton armor while using slings as their primary weapon. Both of these were made from fibers and textiles. Another weapon was the club, usually made from stone but sometimes copper or bronze. Given the Andean mountains' geography, their primary transportation was llamas and alpacas; thus, no metals were useful in this regard.
Metals became necessary for their symbolic uses in religion and conveying power, status, and wealth. Ornamentation of the body, like modern jewelry, was essential for this symbolic power. The earspools pictured here are extraordinary examples of Chimú court regalia but also the work of Chimú craftsmanship. The three-dimensional gold relief embossed scene shows a central figure with a magnificent headdress held up on a platform while two other figures in headdresses carry them. There is a smaller figure below carrying a double-spout-and-bridge bottle. The spool not only shows this impressive detail of the figures but also has connecting sheets of metal dangling at multiple points connected with metal rings in the central scene (zoom in or go to the Met's website for more high-resolution photos). Chimú artisans created this with a gold sheet using embossing, stabling, and soldering techniques. Despite the size, it would have been lightweight due to the hollow decorated shaft.
Early earspools date to the Mochica (c. 100-700 AD)but lasted through the Inca Empire (1438–1533 AD). Spaniards even referred to the Inca as orejones, or "big ears," because of this ornamentation practice. Gold and silver nose rings were also a widespread practice connected to dress and ornamentation. While this jewelry was important for status while living, other ornamentation was necessary for the deceased. A lot of the metalworks we have today are thanks to funerary contexts. After the Spanish discovered the vast wealth of gold and silver in the Andes, much of it was stripped and melted down. Mummies and burials were also sadly looted and often burned. However, the mummies and burials archaeologists have found intact allow us to view a window into the wealth of the past.
Andean mummies are found in fetal position enclosed in a bundle of fine clothes, called a fardo. Other high-quality objects or offerings are placed inside with the person. While the wrapping resembles a tight ovoid bundle, sometimes they come with 'false-heads,' and sometimes these heads are adorned with golden masks made from sheet gold or gold alloy. The mummy bundle pictured here is Huari from the Middle Horizon (600-1000 AD). The mask pictured is covered in pigment and found on a deceased ruler on the north coast of Peru. Inside the burial were great deposits of gold, silver, shell, and textiles.
Metals in the Andes were, then, essential to the people. Used from crowns to literal ornaments on a garment, metals like gold and silver were about the wearer's performance. Each civilization built upon the last, and by the time of the Inca Empire (1438–1533 AD), the luxury arts were state-organized with craftsmen relocated to the capital of Cuzco. Generally, luxury objects were worn with restricted access, but royal gifts made it possible for non-elite possession. Generally, these objects were seen as a direct association with the emperor himself. Gifts were diplomatic. Gold and silver ornamentation were outward expressions of wealth, alliance, status, and religion.
Sources:
Pillsbury, Joanne. "Imperial Radiance: Luxury Arts of the Incas and their Predecessors." In Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy F. Potts, and Kim Richter, pp. 33-43. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2017.
Lechtman, Heather. "The Significance of Metals in Pre-Columbian Andean Culture." Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 38, no. 5 (1985): 9-37. Accessed December 14, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20171767.
Lemaitre, Serge, Lena Bjerregaard, and Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire (Belgium). 2018. Inca: Textiles and Ornaments of the Andes. Belgium: Ludion.
Hamilton, Andrew James. 2016;2017;. "New Horizons in Andean Art History." Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 75/76: 42-101.
Images
Sling Shot with Shells, 14th–15th century, Chimú or Chancay, Peru, The Metropolitian Museum, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/315749?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&who=Chim%c3%ba&ft=*&offset=240&rpp=80&pos=293
Pair of Earflares with Multifigure Scenes, 12th–15th century, Chimú, Peru, Diam. 5 1/4 in. (13.5 cm), The Metropolitan Museum, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/698331?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&where=South+America&ft=mask&offset=100&rpp=80&pos=106
Funerary Bundle, Middle Horizon (600 AD - 1000 AD), Huari, Peru, Museo Larco – Lima, Perú, https://www.museolarco.org/catalogo/ficha.php?id=44102, https://www.museolarco.org/en/exhibition/permanent-exhibition/masterpieces/huari-funerary-bundle/?origin=1114
Funerary Mask, 10th–12th century, Lambayeque (Sicán), Peru, The Metropolitan Museum, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/309959