Pre-Columbian gold earrings from Colombia
€12,000
available
Object number
AR3403E
| Object: |
Pre-Columbian gold earrings from Colombia
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| Material: |
Gold.
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| Period: |
1 to 1000 AD. Era before Spanish influence. Since earrings of this type were popular over a long period of time, the chronological attribution is not very precise. Some of these earrings are dated a little earlier, to the year 200 BC, when the gold craft of the Zenú first manifested itself. Some are dated later, until the year 1600, when the craft was last practiced. We follow the dating of the MET (see references below). |
| Description: |
Matching pair of gold earrings from the Colombian Zenú culture. They come from the era before the Spanish takeover. Each earring is shaped like a flat crescent moon with elongated ends. The area is decorated in an openwork, geometric pattern arranged in three rows. In the middle of the flat side is a circular hoop with which the earring could be hung. It is an impressive gold work, made by casting. The pair was worn as earrings by the Zenú people who lived on the fertile Caribbean coast of Colombia. Around the year 1600, the influence of the Spanish culminated and the old crafts disappeared. |
| Dimensions: |
One earring 91mm wide and 22mm high including the hoop and the other 92mm wide and 19mm high including the hoop. Both together weigh about 8g.
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| Condition: |
Minor flaws and deformations, for instance visible at one of the hoops. But these do not spoil the almost perfect overall impression.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us on the German art market in 2022. Previously in the German private collection U. C. Acquired at auction 3 December 1983 by Sotheby's New York, USA.
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| References: |
Cf. Dumbarton Oaks Research Collection, acc. no. PC.B.399. Cf. Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc. no. 1974.271.58. Cf. numerous earrings of this type in the Museo del Oro Zenú, Cartagena. For another such pair of earrings on the art market, see David Bernstein, No. P1022, offered in 2024 for 23,500 USD (equivalent to 22,000 EUR). |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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