Disk
Unknown Artist
6th–7th century
Medium
Gilded copper, silvered copper, shell inlay
Dimensions
Diameter 6-1/8 in. (15.5 cm)
Classification
Metal-Ornaments
Culture
Moche
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection of Arnold I. Goldberg, 1980
Accession Number
1982.392.8
Art Historical Context
This exquisite gilded copper disk, crafted by an unknown Moche artist in the 6th–7th century, hails from the ancient Moche culture of Peru's northern coast. The Moche, flourishing between 100–700 CE, were master artisans renowned for their sophisticated metalwork, ceramics, and monumental architecture. Ornaments like this disk likely served as elite pectorals, earspools, or ritual adornments, symbolizing status and spiritual power in a society where metallurgy reflected divine favor and warrior prowess. Measuring just over 6 inches in diameter, the disk showcases advanced techniques: sheets o...