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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Chimu Art : Chimu Shark Effigy Trumpet
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Chimu Shark Effigy Trumpet - PF.1335
Origin: Northern Coast of Peru
Circa: 800
AD
to 1200
AD
Catalogue: V5
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
Additional Information: SOLD
$2,400.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
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The Chimu culture arose around 800 A.D.
and
flourished until the Incan conquest
about six
hundred years later. Their civilization
was
centered at their capital Chan Chan,
about 300
miles north of Lima, literally meaning
“Sun Sun,”
the largest Pre-Columbian city in Peru
estimated
to contain almost one hundred thousand
citizens.
The Chimu believed the sea, which they
called
“Ni,” was the origin of life, a theory
also
proposed by modern science and
evolution.
Thanks to their sea-faring skills, the
Chimu were
able to survive, nestled in between the
desert
and the sea. The sea was everything to
them: an
endless supply of food and the source of
inspiration for their most imaginative
myths,
legends, and artwork. Agriculture was
also vital,
and the Chimu drew up a vast number of
irrigation works demonstrating immense
engineering skill, some of which are
still in use
today. Today, aside from the astounding
mud
ruins of Chan Chan remarkably well
preserved in
the heat of the desert, the Chimú are
perhaps
best known for their distinctive black
glazed
pottery influenced by their
predecessors: the
Moche.
The people of ancient Peru had a deep
appreciation for the animals who shared
their
world. The fate of mankind frequently
depended
on the benevolent will of the beasts,
who
embodied the gods and spirits of nature.
As in
many cultures through the ages, the
habits and
characters of animals were identified
with those
of humans. Warriors expecially sought to
link
themselves with fierce, swift, and
strong
creatures. This fascinating tubular
object, one of
a pair, depicts a shark with open jaws.
It may
have served as a kind of trumpet, used
to amplify
the voice on the battlefield. Its
mystery adds to
its appeal. Its exact function has been
lost in the
mists of time, but its power over the
imagination
is undeniable. L. 20cm(7 7/8IN)
- (PF.1335)
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