Pre-Columbian Mochica Culture Lapis Lazuli Spool Earrings Authorized Museum Reproductions
Pre-Columbian Mochica Culture Lapis Lazuli and Mother Of Pearl Spool Pierced Post Earrings are Authorized Museum Reproductions and approx 18mm in diameter and weigh approx 8.5 grams. Ear spools like these were reserved for the Moche elite of Northern Peru, circa 300 A.D.
Gold, Lapis Lazuli and imported shell ornaments like these ear spools were reserved for the Moche elite, who were often buried with these treasures. Moche metallurgists developed a unique gilding process. Rather than the application of gold to the exterior, these artisans developed depletion gilding in which the piece essentially gilds itself from within.
An Authorized Reproduction from the collections of the San Antonio Museum of Art.