Beaker with Figure Displaying a Shell 900–1100 Lambayeque (Sicán) This gold drinking vessel in the shape of a figure displaying a shell comes from the Lambayeque culture of Peru’s north coast and was created for use in ceremonial feasts before it was eventually deposited in the tomb of a high-status individual. This type of vessel shape originated in the south-central Andes, where tall ceramic beakers with flaring rims were popular in the earlier Tiwanaku and Wari cultures. A few examples of beakers made of precious metals and sculpted in the shape of a head are known from these southern

Beaker with Figure Displaying a Shell 900–1100 Lambayeque (Sicán) This gold drinking vessel in the shape of a figure displaying a shell comes from the Lambayeque culture of Peru’s north coast and was created for use in ceremonial feasts before it was eventually deposited in the tomb of a high-status individual. This type of vessel shape originated in the south-central Andes, where tall ceramic beakers with flaring rims were popular in the earlier Tiwanaku and Wari cultures. A few examples of beakers made of precious metals and sculpted in the shape of a head are known from these southern cultures, but they do not appear to have been made in large quantities. After the ninth century , however, vessels made of precious metals were made in greater numbers farther north, in the Lambayeque region, near the modern city of Chiclayo. Prior to this time, ritual vessels on the north coast were made in the shape of goblets, and probably exclusively of fired clay. By the beginning of the Late Intermediate period, or around 1000 , production of objects of silver and gold reached epic proportions. As many as 176 gold beakers were said to have been found in a single tomb at the site of Batán Grande, a large ritual center of the Lambayeque culture (also known as Sicán) in the La Leche River Valley. Reportedly arranged in groups of ten according to size, shape, and iconography, the beakers were undoubtedly created in a centralized workshop, using standard-size ingots or blanks that were then shaped over a form. The sheer number and quality of the works speak to the Lambayeque lords’ prodigious workshops and their control over resources. Great skill would have been required to create this embossed beaker. Fashioned from a single sheet of an alloy of gold, silver, and copper, it was carefully shaped over a wood form, taking care to prevent cracking as the metal was stretched and manipulated. Some forms included facial features, but specific details could also be

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