GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Produced for a Sicán high-ranking individual, this gold beaker resembles a typical Andean ceramic goblet, wooden quero (qero, kero) or metal aquilla. Through the Spanish Colonial period, these vessel forms were used in feasts for drinking corn beer, called chicha in Spanish or Taino or aqha (a’qa) in Quechua. During the Late Intermediate Period (900-1400 CE), Sicán goldsmiths favored the use of sheet metal consisting of a gold-copper alloy; the copper provided for increased strength in sheet metal production. The artisans would work the sheet metal through annealing and hammering to shape the goblet form. Through the use of figural molds, the Sicán created low to high-relief designs on the vessel surface, which are visually enhanced through the play of light and shadow.
The Sicán gold cups share highly consistent motifs. These include representations of bivalve Spondylus shells (1976.W.540). The Sicán elite may have exercised control over the trade of these precious pink to red shells, which occur principally in the tropical waters north of Peru. As regional descendants from the Moche culture, the north coast visual heritage is reflected through the illustration of plain and "animated" war clubs—weapons often terminating in a cone-shaped finial. Other consistent figural forms depicted on these goblets include isolated anthropomorphic heads, staff-bearing individuals, birds, step-and-fret elements, and frogs. The repeated designs on these beakers suggest the creation of pairs for ritual feasts between guest and host, reinforcing the importance of feasting in pre-Hispanic Andean societies.
Adapted from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, DMA unpublished material, 2015.
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text [1976.W.541, 1976.W.548, 1976.W.549, 1976.W.558], 2015.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Group of Beakers (1976.W.545, 1976.W.556, 1976.W.542, 1976.W.540, 1976.W.570, 1976.W.562, 1976.W.569)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 35.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1976.W.540, 1976.W.543, 1976.W.546, 1976.W.547, 1976.W.550, 1976.W.551, 1976.W.570], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2006.
NOTES
- Sicán (Lambayeque), AD 900-1100, Late Intermediate Period (Middle Sicán) (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on TMS, 10/15/13, 11/06/13, 11/29/13, and 06/12/14.
- Fun Facts Sources: Dr. Patricia Netherly, personal communication with Carol Robbins (Associate Curator), November 14, 1984 (in DMA Object File); Junius B. Bird Report, 1/26/1976, p. 22, TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Attribution.
- Related Objects: 1976.W.540-574, 35 objects total; nearly identical to 1976.W.566 [563, 566 set]; very similar to 1976.W.565 and 1976.W.567 [565, 567 set], and to 1976.W.564, 1976.W.568, 1976.W.569 [564, 568-569 set]; TMS does not note any specific related objects.
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1960: Paul Cheesman, Miami, FL [1]
1960-1976: Nora and John Wise, New York, purchased from the above, Miami, FL, October-November 1960 [1]
From 1976: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance is a letter from Nora E.H. Wise to Paul Tishman, New York (dated February 01, 1982, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object Files). Wise notes the cups (1976.W.540-574, 35 objects total) were purchased from Cheesman. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
- Dallas Museum of Art Archives. Photograph Collection, 1900-2003. ID: 03/200X.016. Box 37: Photographs. Folder 11: Barney Delabano and Anne Bromberg examining pre-Columbian gold cups, c. 1990.
- Dallas Museum of Art Archives. Photograph Collection, 1900-2003. ID: 03/200X.016. Box 47: DMA People. Folder 6: Anne Bromberg with Barney Delabano and gold cups, Gold of 3 Continents Exhibit, 1990s (negatives).
FUN FACTS
- Sicán (Lambayeque) metalwork objects were regularly made in lots of 20 and 40, or in multiples of 20.
- In his 1976 report, Junius B. Bird, curator emeritus of South American archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History, notes: "Batan Grande style gold cups. HT Frogs without nostrils. H. 6". Similar to the set of three (HT10D, Z, ZZ [1976.w.564, .568, .569]) differing only in height."
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Apply to objects where number equals 1976.W.563
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General Description
Produced for a Sicán high-ranking individual, this gold beaker resembles a typical Andean ceramic goblet, wooden quero (qero, kero) or metal aquilla. Through the Spanish Colonial period, these vessel forms were used in feasts for drinking corn beer, called chicha in Spanish or Taino or aqha (a’qa) in Quechua. During the Late Intermediate Period (900-1400 CE), Sicán goldsmiths favored the use of sheet metal consisting of a gold-copper alloy; the copper provided for increased strength in sheet metal production. The artisans would work the sheet metal through annealing and hammering to shape the goblet form. Through the use of figural molds, the Sicán created low to high-relief designs on the vessel surface, which are visually enhanced through the play of light and shadow.
The Sicán gold cups share highly consistent motifs. These include representations of bivalve Spondylus shells (1976.W.540). The Sicán elite may have exercised control over the trade of these precious pink to red shells, which occur principally in the tropical waters north of Peru. As regional descendants from the Moche culture, the north coast visual heritage is reflected through the illustration of plain and "animated" war clubs—weapons often terminating in a cone-shaped finial. Other consistent figural forms depicted on these goblets include isolated anthropomorphic heads, staff-bearing individuals, birds, step-and-fret elements, and frogs. The repeated designs on these beakers suggest the creation of pairs for ritual feasts between guest and host, reinforcing the importance of feasting in pre-Hispanic Andean societies.
Adapted from
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, DMA unpublished material, 2015.
- Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text [1976.W.541, 1976.W.548, 1976.W.549, 1976.W.558], 2015.
- Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Group of Beakers (1976.W.545, 1976.W.556, 1976.W.542, 1976.W.540, 1976.W.570, 1976.W.562, 1976.W.569)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 35.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1976.W.540, 1976.W.543, 1976.W.546, 1976.W.547, 1976.W.550, 1976.W.551, 1976.W.570], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2006.
Fun Facts
- Sicán (Lambayeque) metalwork objects were regularly made in lots of 20 and 40, or in multiples of 20.
- In his 1976 report, Junius B. Bird, curator emeritus of South American archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History, notes: "Batan Grande style gold cups. HT Frogs without nostrils. H. 6". Similar to the set of three (HT10D, Z, ZZ [1976.w.564, .568, .569]) differing only in height."
Archival Resources
- Dallas Museum of Art Archives. Photograph Collection, 1900-2003. ID: 03/200X.016. Box 37: Photographs. Folder 11: Barney Delabano and Anne Bromberg examining pre-Columbian gold cups, c. 1990.
- Dallas Museum of Art Archives. Photograph Collection, 1900-2003. ID: 03/200X.016. Box 47: DMA People. Folder 6: Anne Bromberg with Barney Delabano and gold cups, Gold of 3 Continents Exhibit, 1990s (negatives).
Web Resources
Notes
- Sicán (Lambayeque), AD 900-1100, Late Intermediate Period (Middle Sicán) (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on TMS, 10/15/13, 11/06/13, 11/29/13, and 06/12/14.
- Fun Facts Sources: Dr. Patricia Netherly, personal communication with Carol Robbins (Associate Curator), November 14, 1984 (in DMA Object File); Junius B. Bird Report, 1/26/1976, p. 22, TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Attribution.
- Related Objects: 1976.W.540-574, 35 objects total; nearly identical to 1976.W.566 [563, 566 set]; very similar to 1976.W.565 and 1976.W.567 [565, 567 set], and to 1976.W.564, 1976.W.568, 1976.W.569 [564, 568-569 set]; TMS does not note any specific related objects.
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
Before 1960: Paul Cheesman, Miami, FL [1]
1960-1976: Nora and John Wise, New York, purchased from the above, Miami, FL, October-November 1960 [1]
From 1976: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison [1], [2]
[1] The main source for this provenance is a letter from Nora E.H. Wise to Paul Tishman, New York (dated February 01, 1982, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object Files). Wise notes the cups (1976.W.540-574, 35 objects total) were purchased from Cheesman. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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