Headdress (Vincha)
ClassificationsClothing and Adornments-head ornaments-headdresses
Date100 BCE - 300 CE
Made AtIca Department, Peru, South America
MediumGold
Dimensions12 3/4 × 19 in. (32.4 × 48.3 cm)
Credit LinePurchased with Funds Provided by Dr. James Block Pick Ph.D. and Dr. Rosalyn M. Laudati Ph.D.
Object number2005.26.1
DescriptionHammered gold, repousse headdress ornaments such as this exceptionally large one are usually attributed to the Nazca culture of southern Peru. Typically, the iconography focuses on a stylized, oblong frontal face repeated at different scales, with circular eyes and what appear to be mustaches and short beards. Rows of circles of various dimensions and zigzag patterns fill the spaces between two faces.Two pairs of perforations on either side of the central faces suggest that the object may have been worn afixed to a turban or a headdress although there are no depictions in the art of the region to confirm this use. It is thought that these items were not meant to be worn in life, but rather were attached to burial shroud mummy bundles which were then placed in tombs.
On View
On view
mid to late 20th Century
332 BCE - 330 CE
20th Century
20th Century
