Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Moche, ca. 100 to 400 CE. A tumi ritual knife presenting a lengthy, slender body with a flared and rounded blade and topped by the figure of a Moche lord, all formed from high-quality - 99.6% - copper. Sitting upon a frog, the ancient figure holds a planting stick in his right hand and a seed cloth in his left as he gazes outward from giant rhomboid eyes above a pointed nose, and incised smile. A thick strap lays diagonally across his chest, supporting a large seed bag that hangs on his back. His head is capped by a hemispherical headdress with a backward flowing ponytail or veil extending from the top. The shaft of the tumi is adorned on each side with the relief image of a slithering snake surrounded by 3 ears of corn. Size: 1.25" W x 7.25" H (3.2 cm x 18.4 cm); 7.875" H (20 cm) on included custom stand.
According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The Moche people of northern Peru (first–seventh century) were among the first to use copper, often with the addition of arsenic to harden the metal and improve the quality of the cast. Moche metalworkers hammered most of their precious metals—gold and silver—into objects of sheet metal, but many works in copper were cast by the lost-wax technique."
The serpent is a fascinating element of Pre-Columbian iconography as it was regarded to be a beneficial source of nourishment and at the same time quite deadly with its poisonous venom.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Hans Juergen Westermann collection, Germany, collected from 1950 to 1960s
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#101627
Condition
Collection label on verso. Intact and excellent with nice patina.