Module 12: Americas

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https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.183?collection_search_query=nose+ornament+chavin&op=search&form_build_id=form-mXX1Enmk-xbVA2WZPqrsBq0kTCs6VZchwZarrrErfjw&form_id=clevelandart_collection_search_form

    The art piece I chose this week is a nose ring. It obviously doesn't look like a traditional nose ring people wear today, but I almost like it better. This nose ring and others like it (extravagant) would have been worn by men and women of a higher social status. This would have let people know their social status and that they were apart of the Chavín religion. Chavín is also a place, Chavín de Huántar. It is located deep in the Andes mountains between the east and west mountain ranges. In the article on smart history, Chavín de Huántar by Dr Sarahh Scher, author Scher writes, "Over the course of 700 years, the site drew many worshipers to its temple who helped in spreading the artistic style of Chavín throughout highland and coastal Peru by transporting ceramics, textiles, and other portable objects back to their homes." This place was an art goldmine. The God that the temple was created for was depicted on a Lanzón, which is Spanish translating to great spear in English. It was some sort of half human half animal creature with its eyes looking upward. Which is a similarity found on this nose ring from Chavín. Both of the servants eyes are looking upward. Scher writes, "The Lanzón depicts a standing figure with large round eyes looking upward. Its mouth is also large, with bared teeth and protruding fangs," The nose ring has almost all of this similarities. I also find it interesting that the left serpent on the nose ring also has a nose ring. From what I had learned about nose rings in this area, especially big ones, it shows wealth a loyalty to Chavín, so I could only assume that is the portrayal for the serpent with the nose ring, on the nose ring.

 Citations:

-Dr. Sarahh Scher, "Chavín de Huántar," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed November 30, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/chavin-de-huantar/.

-Anonymous. “Nose Ornament.” Cleveland Museum of Art, 24 Sept. 2021, https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1958.183?collection_search_query=nose%2Bornament%2Bchavin&op=search&form_build_id=form-mXX1Enmk-xbVA2WZPqrsBq0kTCs6VZchwZarrrErfjw&form_id=clevelandart_collection_search_form. 

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