Property from an American Private Collection
Two Aztec Sheet Gold Ornaments
Circa AD 1486 - 1532
Lot Closed
October 28, 04:07 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000 - 5,000 USD
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Description
Property from an American Private Collection
Two Aztec Sheet Gold Ornaments
Circa AD 1486 - 1532
Lengths (each): 8 in (20.3 cm)
American Private Collection, acquired by 1975
Thence by descent to the present owner
Finely hammered and burnished sheet gold ornaments were made as offerings, some representing objects used in headdresses such as the pleated paper rosettes and face and nose ornaments - such as found in the Templo Mayor Offering 123 and 125. The two slender arrow-tipped ornaments here are decorated in with flat areas highlighted in repoussé, giving a sense of movement between the design elements. The circular and oval forms may represent shells.
Cf. See Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts and Kim N. Richter, eds., Golden Kingdoms, Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, Los Angeles, 2017, figs. 215, p. 262-263.; see also ibid., fig. 216 for the pair of Fire Serpent ornaments with distinctive arrow-shaped tails.