Precious necklace, ca. 400 - 600 AD · Peru, South to Central Coast, Huari (Wari) · ID: 3052458
Starting price
EUR 1,000
Estimated price
EUR 2,000
Provenance
German Private CollectionA. & B. Schirmer, Berlin, Germany (2002)
Size
H: 30 cm
B: 33 cm
H: 4,8 cm - 7,5 cm (segments)
H: 11.8 inch
B: 13.0 inch
H: 1.9 inch - 3.0 inch (segments)
Description
composed of 34 trapezoidal segments, cut from Spondylus shell, newly restrung
Spondylus is a marine shell also known as the ’thorny oyster’. The Inca called it “mullu”. It was primarily harvested off the coast of present-day Ecuador and imported into Peru, which further increased its value. These shells were considered more precious than gold or even silver and became known as “red gold”.
Necklaces such as this one were likely worn by high priests or dignitaries from the upper social echelons.
Comparing literature
Musée du Petit Palais (ed.), Peru, Art from the Chavin to the Incas, Paris 2006, p. 187, ill. 213 f.
Notices
This object is subject to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Protection Act. Export documents are required for export (subjected to a fee).