y. ' ~ -:.

PERU

PACIFIC
OCEAN

D area of major Moche occupation

 Silvered and gilded copper
metalwork from Loma Negra:
manufacture and aesthetics

DEBORAH SCHORSCH

ELLEN G. HOWE

MARK T. WYPYSKI

SHERMAN FAIRCHIW CENTER FOR ÜBfECTS CONSERVATION

THE METROPOUTAN MUSEUM OF ART
1000 FIFTH AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10028 USA

Figure 1 Map of the nonh Abstract: The Moche, who inhabited the north coast of Peru in the Early
coast of Peru jcourtesy of Intermedia te Period, hada rich metallurgical production that employed, for
Adam Hartj. the most part, hammered sheet of various metals joined by mechanical
means. The artisans who produced the metal gravegoods deposited in Moche
burials at Loma Negra used an electrochemical replacement plating process
to apply precious metallayers to copper substrates, a method tbat was wtique
to the Piura Valley, where the si te is located, far from the Moche heartland
on the other side of the formidable Sechura Desert. Considered here are
two types of objects in the Loma Negra corpus - disk ornaments and fox
head headdress ornaments- assembled from copper sheet plated using this
remarkable method, which allowed the deposition of extremely thin layers
of gold and silver of any composition. In addition to construction and surface
treatment, this paper considers how these colorful, animated three-dimen-
sional ornaments might have been perceived by the ancient observer.

Resumen: Los Moche, pobladores de la costa norte del Perú durante el

período Intermedio Temprano, tuvieron una rica producción metalúrgica
para la cual emplearon principalmente lámínas martilladas de varios metales
que wtieron por medios mecánicos. Los artesanos que produjeron los bienes
metálicos depositados en los entierros Moche de Loma Negra, usaron un
procedimiento de plateado por reemplaw electroquíntico para aplicar capas
de metal precioso a superficies de cobre. Este método es único para el Valle
SILVERED AND CILDED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACTURE ANO ..

de Piura donde se localiza el sitio de Loma Negra, lejos del corazón de la

tierra Moche, al otro lado del formidable desierto Sechura. Aquí se consideran
dos tipos de objetos del corpus de Loma Negra - ornamentos en forma de
discos y adornos para la cabeza con forma de cabezas zorros-, ensamblados
a partir de láminas de cobre plateadas por medio de este notable método,
que permitió la depositación de niveles muy delgados de oro y plata de
cualquier composición. Además de considerar el método de manufactura y
tratamiento superficial de los artefactos este trabajo tiene en cuenta cómo
el colorido y aniroación de estos ornamentos tri -dimensionales, pudieron
ser percibidos por el antiguo observador.

1
n the last thirty years, following discoveries of large amounts of
metal objects in elite Moche burials in tbe Piura Valley (Disselhoff,
1972; Lapiner, 1976, pp. 112-115 & plates following; Jones, 1979), and
in tbe Lambayeque (Alva, 1988; Alva 1990; Donnan, 1990) and Jequetepeque
Valleys (Donnan, 1990, pp. 29-32; Donnan, 1993b) on tbe north coast of Aknowledgements :
Peru, art historians and archaeologists have greatly expanded their knowl-
edge of Moche culture. During tbe same tbree decades, technical studies of The authors most gratefulJy
Moche metalwork have allowed us to recognize tbe high leve! of metallurgi- acknowledge the ge nerous
and on-going suppo n of Ja ·
cal expertise attained by tbe Moche of tbe Early lnterrnediate Period that mes H . Frantz, Conservator
facilitated tbe production of sorne of the most visually sophisticated works in Charge, and Richard E.
of art in metal knownfrom tbe ancientAmericas (Lechtrnan, et. al., 1975 & Stone, Conservator, in the
1982; Lechtman, 1984a, p. 15; Lechtrnan, 1988, p. 349; Schorsch, 1998). Shennan Fairchild Center for
Objects Conservat ion, and
Julie Jones, Curator, Arts of
The first documented extensive find of Moche rnetalwork occurred in 1969 Africa , Oceania and the
when a site in tbe Vicús area of tbe Piura Valley known as Loma Negra was Americas, The Metropoli-
looted by local huaqueros. Until tbat time significant archaeological re- tan Museum of Art. Thanks
to Lawrence Becker, Conser-
rnains attributed to tbe Moche culture (ca. A.D. 100- 800) had been found vator, Worces ter Art Mu -
only at sites further to tbe soutb, across tbe Sechura Desert, witbin a seum and Marsha Hill, As-
coastal area bordered by tbe Lambayeque and Nepeña rivers (fig. 1) . When sociate Curator, Depanment
the artifacts from Loma Negra appeared archaeologists and art historians of Egyptian Art, The Metro-
politan Museum of Art, for
were puzzled. Not only could they find few parallels for individual objects thei r va luable insights and
or types of objects, tbe large number of metal finds frorn a single context to Adon A . Co rdus of the
was difficult to explain (Jones, 1979; Schaffer, 198 5). Scholars speculated University of Michigan at
as to the function of tbe si te beca use such large finds of precious rnetal- Ann Arbor for undertaking
INAA analyses. Our thanks
work in tbe Andean region as a whole were undocumented. More recent also to Samamha Alderson,
finds, in particular the on-going scientific excavations in tbe Lambayeque Silvia Centeno, Sarah Nun-
Valley at Sipán (Alva &. Donnan, 1993; Alva, 1994), ha ve provided materials berg, Leesa Ve rc-Steve ns,
analogous to the metalwork associated with Loma Negra wich now can be Sophie Lescure, Sa ri Uri·
check and Yaelle Blaise for
recognized as a place of burial for Moche individuals of the highest status their help with va rious pha-
(Jones, 1992) . ses of the Fairchild Center
Loma Negra Project and to
Approximately eighty percent of tbe more tban five hundred objects docu- Heidi IGng. Jeanette Schnc-
ll, Donald Roberts and Ja -
rnented in tbe Loma Negra Archive are now in the collection of the Depart- mes Dowtin of the Depart-
rnent of tbe Arts of Africa, Oceanía and tbe Americas in The Metropolitan ment of the Ans of Africa,
Oceania and the Americas.

146 8ot.ETIN MUSEO DEL ÜRO No.tl, IUUO·DICIEMBRE 1996

 DEBORAH SCHORSCH et al.

Museum of Art.' The collection includes objects of personal adomment,

as well as severa! hundred "ornaments" of unknown function.

In the manufacture of the Loma Negra metalwork, the three metals of early
Peruvian metallurgy-gold, silver and copper-were alloyed, and the alloys
combined as surface and substrate. These high status objects were made
almost exclusively from hammered sheet, variously of gold, silver, silvered
gold, gilded copper, silvered copper and copper, used alone or in combina-
tion, and with non-metallic inlays of various colors. The joining most
frequently was mechanical, which is typical of Moche metalwork as a whole
(Lechtrnan, et. al., I982, p. 7; Lechtrnan, 1988, p. 334). Al! of the objects
that combine these three metals can be placed on the basis of their manu-
facture into one of two groups; the first consists of objects made using
temary gold alloys and binary or ternary silver alloys (fig. 2), while the ob-
jects in the larger group were made from hammered sheets of unalloyed
copper bearing surface layers of precious metal(fig. 3). 2

Combining gold and silver, or the colors of gold and silver, was of para-
mount interest to Moche metalsrniths and their audience. In a previous
study of Loma Negra metalwork, objects that juxtapose solid gold and silver
sheet were considered together with objects-primarily disk ornaments-
where gold and silver layers had been applied to copper substrates (Schorsch,
1993; Schorsch, 1998). Ultimately ten methods used by the Moche to
combine gold and silver, mostly in the form of sheet metal, but involving

Figure 2: Nose ornament, gold and silver, Moche, from Loma Negra. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael Rockefeller Collection, Bequest of
Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979 (1979.206. 1236).

1 The Loma Negra Archive,

also now in the Metro-
politan Museum, was as-
se mbl ed in the early
1970s by Anne Schaffer,
uod e r th e direct ion of
Julie Jones, at that time
cwator of Pre-Columbian
an at the Museum of Pri-
mitive A.rt, New York.
1 Because most of the cop-
per sheet objects from
Loma Negra have not
been cleaned, the origi-
nal colors of their surfa-
ces are obscured by mas-
si ve layers of cop pe r
corroston and archaeo-
logical accretions.

8ot.ETIN MUSEO DEL ÚRO No.•l , /UUO-DIClE.MBRE 1996 147

SrLVERED ANO CILDED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACTURE ANO ..

different mechanical, adhesive and metallurgical meth-

ods of joining, were identified. At the same time,
as systematic examination of copper-based
metalwork from Loma Negra progressed
(Howe, et. al., 1993; Schorsch, et. al.,
n .d.), it became apparent that far more
types of objects combined gilded and
silvered copper sheet than the disks
that were examined in-depth for the
previous study. On the basis of this
additional information, objects that
juxtapose precious metal surface lay-
ers can be recognized as expressions
of an aesthetic different than that
which shaped the omaments made of
solid gold and silver sheet.

Among metal objects attributed to the

Moche culture, the greatest sophistica-
tion and elaboration in style and technol-
ogy, and the most lavish use of precious
metals, were employed in the manufacture of
items for personal adomment of the head, includ-
ing carflarcs, headdrcsses, necklace elements, and
nose ornaments (figs. 2, 4-6). Of the various types of
objects known from Loma Negra, the composite gold and silver nose
omaments exhibit the greatest diversity in their manufacture. In fact, the Figure 3: Disk, gilded
relatively frequent occurrence of nose omaments in material culture and copper, Moche, from Loma
imagety, the sophistication and variety of their design, and their lavish use Negra. The Metropolitan 1
of precious materials, suggest that nose ornan1ents, although not unknown Museum of Art Bequest of
1

among other Andean cultures, can be recognized as a particularly Moche Jane Costello Goldberg,
from the Collection of
form of expression in metal . Amold l. Goldberg, 1986
(1987.394.46).
The association of gold and silver with the right and left sides of the human
body has been demonstrated in burial contexts at Sipán (Donnan, 1993a,
pp. 172-180; Alva & Donnan, 1993, pp. 221-223) and can be observed in
Moche nose omaments such as a hammer-welded exan1ple from Loma Negra
(fig. 5). This crescent juxtaposes adjacent, mirror-in1age fields of gold and
silver. Scholars of Moche culture have suggested that the metals symbolize
basic human dualities, such as maJe and female or sun and moon (Aiva &
Donnan, 1993, p. 223), justas the visual relationship between these diller-
ently colorcd fields is one of opposition. This type of spatial relationship
tends to commurticate balance and stability, perhaps in1mutability, and the
nose omaments, although in many cases quite smaU, are in1posing, sug-
gesting the heft and rigidity of the harnn1ered precious metal sheet.

This relationship of opposition is continued in other spatial schemes in

which there is no clear "right" and "left", and for which Moche specialists

148 BoiEilN MUSEO DEL ÜllO No4 1. /UUO.DICIEMBR.E 1996

 DEBORAH SCHORSCH et al.

have suggested no cultural associa-

tion. For example, a nose omament
in the Museo del Oro de Perú
(Thshingham, et. al., 1979, pis . 75-
76) thought to be from Loma Negra
presents the repeated alternation of
gold and silver fields, also on both
si des of a central axis. The gold and
silver fields in opposition can also
function as foreground versus back-
ground (figs 2, 6) or top versus bot-
tom (fig. 4) 3

In contrast to the bold juxtaposi-

tion achieved with gold and silver
sheet, the disk ornaments, with
their gold and silver surface layers,
Figure 4: N ose ornament, are characterized by subtle transitions in color, texture and depth. An ob-
gold and silver, Moche, server could not know per se that the metal was copper with gold and silver
from Loma Negra. The surface layers rather than salid gold and silver sheet but a perception of the
Metropolitan Museum of "filminess", inherent in what have been found to be extremely thin layers
Art, The Michael of precious metal, is clearly communicated. A characterization of two dif-
Rockefeller Collec· tion,
ferent visual systems created using gilded and silvered copper sheets, sorne-
Beques t of Nelson A.
Rockefeller, 1979
times with lhe contribution of the reddish pi.nk color of unadorned copper,
(1979.206. 1228). forrns the basis for the current publication. For the purpose of this inves-
tigation two classes of objects found at Loma Negra-disk ornaments and
fox head headdress ornaments-are considered.

Figure 5: Nose ornament,

gold and silver, Moche,
from Loma Negra. The
Metro·politan Museum of
Art, The Michael
Rockefeller Collec·tion,
Bequest of Nelson A.
Rockefeller, 1979
(1979.206.1332).

J For nose ornaments from

La Mina that juxtapose
rows of gold and silver
&oro top to bottom, see
Donnan, 1993a, figs .
127, 130-131.

BoLITIN MUSEO OU ÜRO No.41, /UUO·DICIE.MBRE 1996 149

SILVERED ANO G ILOED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NF.GRA: MANUFAcrtJRE ANO ..

Figure 6: N ose ornament,

gold and silver, Moche,
from Loma Negra. The
Metropolitan Museum of
Art, The Michael
Rockefeller Collection,
Bequest of Nelson A.
Rockefeller, 1979
(1979.206.1230).

There are ten examples of

diskornaments attributed to
Loma Negra in The Metro-
politan Museum of Art (figs.
3, 7-10, 12-13). Other ex-
amples can be found in the
American Museum of Natu-
ral History in New York and additional disks have been documented in the
Loma Negra Archive. This type of ornament is thus far unique to the Piura
Valley. The disks in the Metropolitan Museum vary greatly in size, from
15.5 to 31.0 cm. All have one or more hales for suspension or attachment.
The function of the disks is not known, though they ha ve been described as
pectorals (Tones, 1993) or heraldic devices (Schaffer, 1985, p. 100, n. 4).

In spatial organization the disks, like many other types of gilded and sil-
vered copper sheet objects from Loma Negra, range in complexity from a
single sheet articulated with scored linear decoration and!or ajouré work, to
constructions involving layered elements within a shallow three-dimensional
space. 1Wo gilded copper disks (1987.394.34 & 1987.394.1 12), measuring
21.5 cm and 30.3 cm in diameter, display a similarajouré repetitive pattern
representing deer (fig. 7). A third gilded copper di k (1987.394.129) (diam-
eter 2 7.2 cm) presents a simple radial design traced anta its surface. All
three disks are embellished with dangles suspended from flat wires. These
small, usually circular, attachments are characteristic of Moche metalwork.

Severa! of the more ambitious disks juxtapose gilded and silvered copper
sheet, and display images of great complexity. The joining of the gilded and
silvered sheets is quite simple, and as is the case for the vast majority of
objects attributed to Loma Negra the joins are mechanical, depending heav-
ily on the use of tabs and slots. This simple joining method, however, was
combined with a sophisticated use of metal color and surface treatrnent,
and a scheme of spatial organization that, with the addition of movable
components, convey a specific Moche, or perhaps even Loma Negra, aes-
thetic. Although these gilded and silvered copper disk ornaments are fash-
ioned from dense, rigid and opaque materials they appear lightweight and
animated .

150 BoUTtN MusEo ou 011.0 No•L. FUUO.DICIEMBR.E 1996

Figure 7: Disk, gilded copper, Moche, from Loma Negra. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Bequest of Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection of Arnold l. Goldberg, 1986
(1987.394.112).

Trus spatial organization, characterized by the layering of formal elements

witllln a shallow three-dimensional space, is particularly apparent in the
manufacture of the disk ornarnents, wruch by their very nature have a clearly
defined rear plane that supports all of the superimposed layers. The small-
est Loma Negra disk ldiameter 15.5 cm), bearing a representation of the
"decapitator" with outspread arms holding a knife and trophy head in each
fist 11982.392.8) lfig. 8), can be used to illustrate tllls concept. In addition
to dangles in three different sizes, tllls gilded and silvered copper assem-
blage consists of twelve components made from hammered sheet. The
disk itself has only the simplest scored decoration that defines a band fol-
lowing the circumference of the disk, and wruch is covered with Jarge dan-
gles. The decapitator, with his body and head in different levels of relief,
fills the field demarcated witrun the disk lfig. 9). Details of rus clothing are
seo red, while rus chest is decorated with small dangles and his eyes, mouth
and earflares are inlaid. In each hand he holds a curved knife, each a sepa-
rate sheet with a narrow raised border, while the trophy heads were at-
tached in the manner of dangles. His "octopus" headdress is a flat sheet
decorated with an owl head doubling as the staple that attaches the head-
dress to rus forehead. Four "rays" that emanate from rus body are each
made from a separa te sheet with scored decoration and dangles. The disk,
from the backplate to the tip of the decapitator 's nose, measures less than
1.5 cm in depth, but within that shallow envelope multiple, overlapping

8oLETtN MUSEO DEl ÜRO No.41, fUUO.DICIEMBRE 1996 151

SILVERED ANO G TLDED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACTURE ANO ..

Figure 8: Disk, gilded and silvered copper, Moche, from Loma Negra, The Metropolitan Museum
of Art, Gift of jane Costello Goldberg, in memory of Arnold l. Goldberg, 1982) 1982.392.8).

levels or layers of sheet have been assembled. Layering-within individual

objects and as an organizational principie in burials-has been cited as a
significant component of the Moche culture ILechtman, 1993; c.f. Alva &
Donnan, figures followingpp . 59, 144 & 168).

The juxtaposition of gold and silver, that is to say, the colors of gold and
silver, either in the form of solid sheet or as surface layers, is a common
visual theme in the metalwork of ancient Peruvian cultures and, as noted
earlier, the Moche in particular applied much technical ingemtity to achieve
this effect. A juxtaposition of precious metal surface layers can be seen on
the decapitator disk, as well as on the two largest Loma Negra disk omaments
in the Metropolitan Museum. '

One of these disks displays a warrior in full regalia surmounted by a double

headed "moon creature" holding a prisoner in each of its jaws 11987.384.54)
lfig. 10). These elements are made of silvered copper sheet, supplemented
with a generous amount of inlay-orange and white shell, green and black
• Ana lyses of all precious
stones and gilded copper-and mounted with tabs to the disk, which itself metal surface laye rs on
is gilded copper. The silvered copper rim is also held in place on the gilded the decapitator disk have
disk by tabs, and by dangle wires. not yet been completed .

152 8oLE11N M USEO D EL ÜRO No•L, )UUQ.DLCLEMBRE L!íl96

 DEBORAH SCHORSCH et al

Figure 9: Detail al disk,

1982.392.8, fig. 8.

Precious metal layers on Moche cop-

per artifacts from Sipán were applied
using a depletion method (Eckmann,
1993) that had widespread application
in pre-conquest Peru and throughout
the Andean regions of South America
(Lechtman, 1973; Lechtman, 1984b,
pp. 60-63; Scott, 1983). Otherthanin
the manufacture of two exceptions thus
lar d.iscovered-the shaft and backplates
from a pair of earflares (Lechtman, et.
al., 1982, pp. 7-10) and a pair of
"decapitator" earflare frontal omaments (1979.206.1234-1235)-this method
is not known to have been used in the manufacture of gilded or silvered
copper metalwork from Loma Negra.

The examination of the more typical precious metal surface layers on cop-
per objects from Loma Negra was undertaken by Heather Lechtman and her
co-workers, who proposed that an electrochemical deposition process had
been used to apply consistently thin layers measuring 0.5- 2.0 microns in
thickness anta copper substrates (Lechtrnan, 1979; Lechtman, et. al., 1982;
Lechtman, 1984b). Studies carried out at the Metropolitan Museum pro-
vide support for this hypothesis and suggest that the same method was
used by both the Moche at Loma Negra and tl1eir ind.igenous Vicús neighbors
in the Piura Valley (Centeno & Schorsch, in this volume). This
electrochemical deposition method has not been observed on Moche met-
alwork from other sites or on Andean metalwork attributed to cultures
siruated outside of the Piura Valley.

Electrochemical-deposition plated gold

and silver surface layers on copper
substrates from a variety of Loma Negra
objects were analyzed using EDS and
INAA. 5 The results indica te that this
innovative method was useful in ap-
plying a wide range of gold-silver alloys,

Figure 10: Disk, gilded and silvered

copper, Moche from Loma Negra. The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of
Jane Costello Goldberg, from the
Collection of Arnold l. Goldberg, 1986
(1987.394.54).

BouTIN MusEo DEL ORO No 41, ¡uuo.mCIEMBRE 1m 153

SILVERED ANO CILDED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACfURE ANO ..

Figure 11: EDS and INAA analyses of Loma

Negra precious metal surface layers on
copper subsuates.
Com~lllofoo• of gold •IWI 11h'ef ~y- on
c~t 1\l... lB!n 1n1m LOINI Hqr1

as the compositions of precious metallay-

ers thus lar analyzed range from 98 "'o gold
with 2 "'o silver, to l 00 "'o silver (fig. JI) .
When considering the compositions of the
surface layers on severa] disks that com- !•
bine gold and silver layers, however, we find ' ~ s EDS analyses were ca rricd
a narrower range of alloys. out at the Sherman Fair-
child Cemer for Objects
Conservation using a Ke-
Pure gold and silver are distinctive in their
color, and mixtures of the two metals dis- ·. vex model Delta IV ener-
gy-dispersive x-ray spec-
play a range of hues between the warrn trometer with a moclified
yellow of gold and the cool gray of silver.6 Amray model 1000
(1600T) scann ing elec-
Replication san1ples duplicating the alloy tron microscope opera ·
composition of the gold !ayer on the "moon ting ata voltage of 30 kV.
creature" disk, which contains approxirnately 31 "'o silver, and the silver The data were quantified
]ayer on the figura] details, with about 37 "'o gold, show tbat the difference using MAGIC IV ZAF
co rrections for standar-
between their colors was subtle, and that botl1 are fairly cool in tone.' dless analysis and are re-
Their clase juxtaposition would have aninuted the surface of the disk, in- poned in rel ative weight
creasing the viewer 's sense of the continuous movement that is suggested percentages. Samples in
by the concentric arrangement of the irnages and the multiplicity of detail. the form of surface scra -
pings and polished sec-
tions were analyzed .
Another disk uses a similar concentric arrangement and also juxtaposes Addttional analysis were
different metal colors. In this case tbe apparent difference in color is dueto carried out usmg mstru-
surface texture rather than metal composition: this a¡ouré disk consists of mema l neutron act iva -
tion analysis (INAA) m
circular bands of fish, densely packed and decorated with chased and punched the Depanrnem of Che-
omament, altem atingwith highlypolished, undecorated bands (1987.394.46) misuy at the Universay
(fig. 3). The adjacent surfaces are identical in composition, but the differ- of Michigan, Ann Arbor,
ent optical qualities of polished versus textured surfaces cause the viewer by Adon A. Go rdus. The
objects were sampled
to perceive tbem as different in color. The a;ouré work inlparts an irnpres- using quartz rods; for a
sion of lighme s and airiness that belies or contrasts to tbe inherent weight descripuon of the tech -
and opacity of metal, as does tbe undulating, alrnost film-like surface. ruque and operaung con-
ditions, see Gordus &
Shimada, 1995, p . 12.
Supplementing dynamic compositions with surfaces aninlated through tbe The data presented in fi.
use of subtle variations in color, texrure and depth, the latter dueto layer- gure 11 also includes two
ing, Moche metalwork, and particularly the objects made of gilded and sil- electron microprobe
vered copper sheet, often incorporates the actual movement of formal com- analyses ca rried out on
Lom a Negra objects by
ponents, accompanied by the distinctive sou nd of metal striking metal. Lechtman, et. al. ( 1982,
The highly reflective layers glittered and altered in color as they shifted in p. 21 ). lt is clear frorn
their orientation to sources of light and adjacent reflective metal surfaces. polished sections of
To these moving parts belong the ubiquitous dangles, though lar more com- Loma Negra gilded and
silvered coppe r artifacts
plex assemblages can be cited; among the disks, a large exan1ple adomed (Lechtman, et. al , 1982;
with an owl can be considered the embodirnent of a dynamic aesthetic rypi- Centeno & Schorsch, in
cal of sorne of the highest quality Moche objects made of gilded and silvered this volume) that annea-
copper sheet. Jing was the final step in

154 BoLEnN MuSEO Dll Oao No 41. JVUO.DIOf.MJlP.f 1996

 DEBORAH SCHORSC H et al.

Whereas the "warrior" and "decapitator" disks juxtapose silvery images on

golden backgrounds, the owl disk (198 7.394.56) (fig. 12) has a silvered cop-
per background. The surface layers on the owl itself, the dangles and their
attachment wires, and the rirn are golden. The gold !ayer contains 20 %
silver and the silver-rich !ayer contains 53 % gold (fig. 13). Replication
samples of the alloys indica te more clearly how similar in color they ap-
peared to the ancient observer. Form is built up using a combination of flat
sheet, sheet in relief and fully sculptural form. The flat rirn is attached to
the disk using tabs and dangle wires. The owl's body, itself raised in high
relief, was made from a single sheet of metal with the flat tail feathers and
claws articulated with scored linear details, and was secured to the disk
with tabs. The scored wings are also continuous with the body but were
not attached to the disk, and would have flapped when the disk was moved,
just as the head, executed in the round from two crimped sheets of gilded
copper and set on a copper rod attached to the inside of the body, would
have rotated from side to side. The cool reflective surfaces of the moving
parts, including the dangles of different shapes, would have glittered and
jingled.
their manufacture. One
expects1 therefore1 to find A broad understanding of the physical and working characteristics of pre-
a small amou nt of cop- cious and base metals and an eagerness to experirnent led Moche metal-
per in the precious metal
layers, panicularly at the workers to develop highly sophisticated and varied solutions for the manu-
interfaces due to the in- facture of objects that evoked different visual effects.The Loma Negra nose
terdiffusion between the omaments made of salid gold and silver sheet encouraged a perception of
substrate and the surface
l ayer during thermal
treatment. However1 the
copper detected in these Figure 12: Disk, gilded and silvered copper, Moche, from Loma Negra. The
analysis is due overwhel- Metropolitan Museum of An, Bequest of Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection
mingly to the proximity of Amold l. Goldberg, 1986 11987.394.56).
of the bulk copper subs -
trate and coppe r corro-
SIOn products overlaying
and within tbe precious
metallayers. For this rea -
SOD1 the percentages of
copper detected are not
reported and the gold
and silver values have
been normalized to total
100 %.
6 l.e . see Drost & HauBelt,
19921 fig. l, for a temary
diagram plotting the
colors of go ld -s il ver-
copper alloys.
1 The colors of gold-silver-
copper alloys shown by
Drosr & Haulle1r 11992,
fig. 1J are schematized¡ for
an accurate assessment,
replication samples are
necessary.

BouTIN M usEo DEL ÜR.O No.4l , ¡uuo·DICIEMBIU. 1996 155

Figure 13: Detail ol disk, 1987.394.56, lig. 12, showing juxtaposition of gilded and silvered sheets in area
between bottom ol owl's proper lelt wing and proper left leg.

the metallic nature of gold and silver, emphasizing such qualities as weight,
solidity, rigidity, while placing these two metals, quite different in their
colors, not merely in contact, but in opposition (figs. 2, 4-6).

A different aesthetic shaped the manufacture of the disk ornaments. Color,

specifically the juxtaposition of similar metal colors and the illusion of
movement eHcited by variations in surface texture, coupled with the actual
rnovement of formal components, the distinctive sounds of metal striking
metal, a sense of lightness, a multiplicity of detail, and the elaboration of
form through layering, all contribute to their distinctive appearance. The
Moche preference for sheet metal facilitated the attainment of sorne of these
aesthetic aims. Mechanically joined copper sheet, which could be surfaced
with any of a wide range of alloys, provided a flexible means for juxtaposing
fields of color that altered in appearance as they moved, andas perceived by
the eye moving from !ayer to !ayer, from substrate to image to attribute to
dangle.

156 8oLETIN M USEO DEL ÜIIO No.• t. JUUQ.DIC\.EMBR.E 1996

 DEBORAH SCHORSCH et al.

By way of comparison it is infom1ative to look briefly at another visual

effect exhibited by sorne objects from Loma Negra, wruch was also created
through a juxtaposition of metal sheets bearing different surface colors.
Many of the Loma Negra objects made from copper sheet represent animals
of one kind or another, particularly sea creatures, such as crayfish and crabs,
and insects ILapiner, 1976, nos. 369, 376, 378-379). Different types of fe-
lines and canines, sorne quite fantastic in their appearance, are also fre-
quently occurring motives. The functions of most of these animal images
are as yet unknown, but one type-three-dinlensional illusionistic repre-
sentations of fox heads-has been attributed a specific function. A fax
head ornament was found as part of a headdress in the burial of a "Warrior-
Priest" excavated in the Virú Valley IStrong & Evans, 1952; Jones, 1979, pp.
75-78). In addition to fragments of a metal fox head and paws, an actual fox
jaw and the remains of an animal pelt were found. In a discussion of a fox
head in Dumbarton Oaks said to be from Loma Negra, Donnan 11996, p.
160) states that at least ten more such ornaments are in various museum
collections, in addition to severa] in private collections. Of these, one was
found at Huaca de la Luna at Moche and is now in the Linden-Museum in
Stuttgart ISutorius Collection 119 154) lfones, 1979, fig. 19). In addition
to the Dumbarton Oaks fox head, severa] mentioned by Donnan are attrib-
uted to Loma Negra or more generally to the Piura Valley and three are said
to be from Sipán IAlva & Donnan, 1993, fig. 199). There are two fox head
ornaments from Loma Negra in the Metropolitan Museuh1, which in over-
all shape are quite similar to the the Piura Valley fox head in the Didrichsen
Art Museum, Helsinki lfones, 1979, fig . 20).

The largerof the two foxheads in the Metropolitan Museum 11982.392.10)

lfig. 14) measures 15.9 cm in length and is among the moreelaborate Loma
Negra three-dimensional constructions employing metal components that
juxtapose a variety of different surface colors. The head itself is a single
piece of gilded copper sheet. It is folded andan overlapped seam runs along
the underside of the crun to the back of the head, which is open. The sheet
was cut and the edges folded in to crea te the opening of the mouth. An-
other folded sheet forms the inner surfaces of the mouth. The only surface
decoration is found on the end of the snout, which is scored with nostrils.

There are severa] gilded and silvered copper sheet components attached to
the head. Each ear was made from two triangular sheets of gilded copper
crinlped together on two sides. Two tabs extend from the bottom edge of
each sheet. The tabs are paired with those on the matching hall of the ears
and each pair is inserted into a slot. On the interior of the head the tabs are
loosely fixed and together they function as runges that hold the ears in
place but allow them to flop forward and back. 1Wo strips of silvered copper
teeth-a fu]] mouth including canines-are fixed in the upper and lower
jaws using a conventional tab and slot arrangement. A reddish pink tongue,
made from a slightly curved strip of unadorned copper sheet, dangles from
the fox's jaw and moves from side to side. The wruskers, each formed by
the insertion of a round wire through a pair of holes, one on each si de of the

BoUTIN M USEO DEL ÜRO No•l , IUUO.OICif.MBRE 1996 157

SILVERED ANO GILDW COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACTURE ANO ...

, On the Loma Negra me-

talwork virtually all dan-
gles have not only iden-
tical suspens ion wires,
but identical means of
suspension: eacb dangle
has a round hale near the
top and is attached by
means of a flat wire strip
threaded through two
slots in the substrate. By
comrast, on the fax each
dangle wire is threaded
through a flat wire loop
with both ends inserted
into a single round hale
in the chin. This me-
thod of attachment ap-
pears typical in the rare
cases where dangles are
suspended from the un-
Figure 14: Fox head ornament, gilded copper, silvered copper and copper, Moche, dersides o( three-dimen-
from Loma Negra, The Metropolitan Museum ol An, Gift ol Jane Costello Goldberg, siona l forms. Here1 as
in memory ol Amold l. Goldberg, 1982( 1982.392. 10). generally is the case on
Moche metalwork 1 the
surface of the dangles
matches that of the me-
muzzle, were made of unadomed copper as well. Round gilded copper dan- tal from which they are
suspended. Dangles were
gles are suspended from the inside of the ears and under the chin.8 The made of gold1 sLlver and
eyes consist of white shell inlays held in place with a natural resin bulked gilded and silvered cop-
with a mixture of ground inorganic materials. The pupils are now filled per; dangles of silvered
with such a resin but it is possible that they originally were inlaid with gold and plain copper are
unknown. The dangles
stone or metal. suspended from the
cbins on mo st other
The smaller fox head is constructed in a similar manner (fig. 15). The Moche fax heads are not
main cornponents are gilded copper, and the tongue, the inside of the mouth, round .
the eyes and the whiskers are plain copper. 9 Lacking are tbe white teetb of ' The metal sheet that for-
silvered copper. lt appears that the teeth were originally inlaid, probably ms the inside of mouth
of the large fax oould not
with white shell, as in the case of the fax head from Huaca de la Luna be observed under mag-
(Iones, 1979, fig. 19). Evidence of this is seen in the slight zigzag impres- nilication and has not yet
sions in the remains of a granular brown adhesive present on tbe inside of been sampled for elemen-
tbe lower jaww talanalysis.
10 Like the example from
The fox heads are not only three-dimensional, but extending toward the Huaca de la Luna 1 the
Loma Negra small fax
viewer from a headband, turban or other support, they have substantial appears to have had only
depth. Projecting parts, such as the ears and tbe dangles, and especially the lower teeth .

158 8oLETIN MuSEO OEL ÜJI.O No.4l , JVUO.DICliMIIR.E 1996

 DEBORAH SCHORSCH et al.

whiskers, add to this illusion of a creature inhabiting space. Moving com-

ponents, witb tbeir glittering metal surfaces and characteristic sounds were
imponant in the conceptions of both the fox head and disk omaments,
while the sense of lightness or airiness, the subtly layered spatial organiza-
tion, and the use of color to unite and anima te surfaces, are typical of only
the disks. Observers of the fox heads are not meant to be aware of the filrny
character of tbe gold and silver layers conveyed by the disk omaments, and
the colors of gold, silver and copper are u sed in a different way.

These animal irnages are not intellectual constructions conveying irúorma-

tion about the nature of surfaces, they are living creatures with physical
attributes tbat are pan of their identity as foxes. The metal colors help to
delineate these attributes: yellow gold to indicate fur, reddish pink copper
to highlight the whiskers and tongues, and the flesh on the inner
mouth, and the whitish silver lor shell) to show the teeth. Moche
imagety is fu]] of visual abstractions, and is lar from any system
of representation tbat could be called realistic. Yet in the case
of tbe fox head omarnents, metal color is used to create sorne
sense of verisirnilitude, to highlight the features that make
ita fox, not to convey an accurate coloration, but sorne illu-
sion of a living creature and its natural attributes.

The presence of a few depletion-gilded copper sheets among

tbe Loma Negra corpus is intriguing. Is tbe brilliant but shon-
lived use of an electrochemical deposition method on the Loma Negra
metalwork reflective of indigenous Piura Valley traditions, and how does its
use correspond to aesthetic goals of anisans working on the Loma Negra
corpus? Lechtrnan (19 84b, p. 63), in a discussion comparing electrochemical
deposition with depletion gilding, describes the two techniques as "cover
and hide" and "development and enhancement", respectively. The precious
metal surfaces attained using enrichment techniques tbat concentra te gold
and silver in the substrate on the surface " ... merely enhanced an aspect of
the metal tbat is inherent to it ... " ILechtrnan, 1984b, p. 63). As men-
tioned earlier, botb the disk ornaments and tbe electrochentical deposition
plating metbod used to crea te them are unique to the Piura Valley. The
gold and silver layers do not cover or hide the copper substrate. Ratber, the
viewer's perception of thin, filrny surfaces was a part of the desired result,
and we can recognize tbe copper sheet as their physical suppon ratber than
something meant to be hidden or disguised. The fox heads-whose pro-
Figure 15: Fox head duction is not lintited to the Piura Valley-juxtapose precious and base
ornament, gilded copper metal surfaces to attain different ends. Perhaps tbey belong toa more pan-
and copper, Moche, from Moche aestbetic. These speculations are just tbat, speculative; investiga-
Loma Negra, The tions into tbe manufacture of other types of gilded and silvered Moche
Metropolitan Museum
of Ait, Giit of Jane metalwork from Loma Negra are on-going.
Costello Goldherg, in
memory of Amold l.
Goldberg, 1982
(1982.392.3).

Bot.EllN MusEO DEL ÜRO No.4L, /UUO. DLCIIMBRE 1996 159

SILVERED AND GILDED COPPER METALWORK FRON LOMA NEGRA: MANUFACTURE AND ...

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