Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Tupu (pin) with decorative head
(Ancient Americas )
This silver object is a tupu (the word for pin in the Quechua indigenous language of Peru). Tupus were used to fasten the shoulders of dresses or to hold cloaks closed in the Andean region from as early as the third century BCE, and are still used in some traditional communities until the present day. The decoration of this example, with the incised shaft of the pin, and crownlike protuberances at the head, suggests that it may date to the colonial period (ca. 1550-1700).
Geographies
Peru (Place of Origin)
Measurements
L: 9 1/2 × W: 1 3/16 in. (24.1 × 3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Anna M. Graves
Location in Museum
Charles Street: Second Floor: Latin American Art / Arte Latinoamericano
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.1836