“This impressive gilded copper disk depicts a crab, surrounded by alternating plain and embossed circular gold bands. The ornament was originally cut from a larger sheet of hammered copper and was subsequently gilded. Portions of the sheet were removed to create the central figure plus five concentric rings connected by six radiating bands or rays. The first, third and outermost circular bands are unworked, while the second and fourth bands have been embossed to depict six fish in profile. The central repoussé crab is masterfully represented with embossed eye stalks, mouth parts, pinchers, carapace, walking legs and tail. Even the articulation points of the leg joints are indicated. As with the crab, each fish in the inner band has been delicately embossed to indicate the piscine facial anatomy, scales and fins. The fourth circular band depicts spotted catfish illustrated in a dorsal view depicting eyes, fins and scales. The plain surfaces, including the rays and the three plain circular bands, are adorned with gilded dangles affixed to the disk by thin gilded wires attached to the back. The wires that hold the dangles are oriented so that only when the central figure, the crab, is pointing up, do the dangles hang properly. (In any other orientation, some of the disks would hang beyond the borders of the backing.) One can imagine the brilliant effect of sunlight reflecting off the solid and shimmering elements of this object.”
“In Moche iconography, crabs are one of the major animals featured in the pantheon of anthropomorphic warriors. Combatants with crab-like bodies and other crustacean attributes but with human heads are often found on Moche modeled and painted ceramics (see, for example, a ceramic bottle in the Met’s collection, 67.167.5). It is unclear what features elevated this sea creature to one of esteem: Was it the crab’s ability to live both under the water and along the edge of the sea seen as symbolic of a warrior’s ability to transcend realms? Or were the crab’s powerful pinchers seen as metaphors of military might? Or was it some other trait unclear to us but evident to Moche viewers? As there was no tradition of writing in the prehispanic Andes, the specific meanings of such imagery remain elusive.
The technical sophistication required for the creation of objects such as this once led scholars to refer to this period as the Master Craftsmen Era (Bennett and Bird, 1949; Castillo 2017). The technology employed for producing these ornate metal objects, however, is still the subject of study (Lechtman, 1982; Schorsch, 1998).
The function of disks such the present example is unclear. They may have served as shield frontals, attached to a cane backing, but the delicate nature of the design would have limited its protective function in actual battle. Thus, these objects may have been intended for ritual use as symbolic weapon adornments. Alternatively, they may have been attached to textile banners or hangings.”
#MetalMonday :
Moche artists; North Coast, Peru
Shield with #crab and #fish figures, 500–800 CE
Gilded copper
H. 7 1/4 × W. 7 1/4 × D. 3/4 in. (18.4 × 18.4 × 1.9 cm)
on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.394.46)
#AndeanArt #PeruvianArt #IndigenousArt
