**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 6th to 7th century CE. A massive gilt-copper nose ornament adorned with an applique face inlaid with semi-precious stones and shell. The visage is attached to the center- standing out in high relief, the eyes are white shells with lapis pupils, the ears adorned with turquoise discs! Crowning the head is a headdress with a circular jaguar pendant. This portrait face may depict a lord or deity such as Ai Apaec, commanding the attention of onlookers with his intense gaze. Surrounding the perimeter of the main panel are numerous attached circular danglers that modern gilt-brass replacements for the original discs which were once attached. Note the perforation for the septum piercing at the top- interestingly this panel would cover the wearer's entire mouth and chin, the face positioned directly over the lips - a symbol of high authority. Size: 4.125" L x 3.4" H (10.5 cm x 8.6 cm); case: 10.75" L x 7.25" W x 8.6" H (27.3 cm x 18.4 cm x 21.8 cm); gold quality: 8.48% to 29.95%; weight: 37.6 grams

Moche elite wore crescent, oval and square nose ornaments suspended from their septum, obscuring the mouth, as significant political and religious status symbols for both men and women. The motifs revealing information and associations. These symbols were believed to grant supernatural power and transformative abilities to the wearer. Ai Apaec is the primary Moche deity of creation, food, water, military victory and the most feared but respected of the wrathful gods- and sometimes referred to as the headsman or decapitator god! His iconography varies, but his ferocious nature was often depicted as a combination of human, aquatic, spider, and jaguar traits. At the peak of the Moche societal heirarchy warrior-priests reigned supreme. These men presided over sacrificial rituals in which prisoners of war were decapitated and dismembered, and scholars posit that during human sacrifices, when prisoners were decapitated, their heads were presented as offerings to Ai Apaec. The dangling discs on this ornament, although modern replacements, are exactly positioned as they would have been, many similar nose ornaments in museum collections contain these dangling discs. The discs caught the light as dazzling elements that lightly tinkled as the wearer moved, announcing their esteemed presence, and may have represented disembodied heads belonging to Ai Apaec. Such an important ornament would have been buried with the deceased to wear in the afterlife.

Provenance: private Hawaii collection, acquired 2000 to 2010

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#177496

Professionally repaired and restored. Dangling discs and wire hooks are modern gilt brass replacements. Restoration along tears of main panel and nearly indiscernable. Head applique is reattached with light adhesive on interior. Green oxidation and mineral deposits. Displayed in museum quality case.