**Originally Listed At $750**

Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche culture, ca. 100 to 700 CE. An impressive hammered 18K gold sheet nose ring of a sizable form with two small prongs above a circular opening. Six small hemispherical bulbs are raised in a horizontal pattern on the obverse face. Size: 4.2" W x 2.5" H (10.7 cm x 6.4 cm); quality of gold: 18K; total weight: 10.1 grams.

The crescent form of this object mirrors that of many known Moche gold items - headdresses and pectorals also had the crescent form, and they derive much of their impressiveness from the wide reflective surface they present to the viewer. This object probably belonged to a male because, in ancient Peru, gold seems to have been reserved for elite men, while silver was reserved for elite women. The crescent perhaps symbolized "Si," the goddess of the moon, who was considered to be more powerful than the sun because she could be seen both in the night and in the day.

Provenance: private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection; ex-private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Splendors of the World Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

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#125075

Slight bending to overall form, minor abrasions, and very minor nicks to nose prongs, otherwise intact and very good. Nice patina throughout.