Fragment of flat figure of man (tunjo)

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This is one of a set of grave goods from a high status grave near Bogota, Colombia. This kind of object is found in large numbers as a votive deposit - an offering to the gods of a human representation rather than a real human sacrifice.

The lower half of the figure is missing. The piece has been made from a flat sheet of gold, with gold wire soldered on to create the detail. The man is shown carrying a spear-thrower in his left hand.

Before the Spanish conquest in the 1500s, high-status graves in many parts of central and south America had large amounts of precious objects. Gold was both a symbol of power and a sacred material.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-180-000-768-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1956.771
• Date: Between 500 and 1540
  
• Material: Gold; applied gold wire
  Figure / man
  
• Dimensions: 1.75" H
  
• What: Figure / man
  
• Subject: Metalwork
  
• Who:
• Where: South America, Ancient Peru, Bogota
  
• Event:
• Description: Gold figure of a man cast flat with details in applied gold wire: Ancient Peru, pre-Colombian Chibcha of Colombia, from a grave near Bogota
  
• References:
  • Herreman, F. and Holsbeke, M. Power of the Sun: the Gold of Colombia. The Hague: Museum Paleis Lange Voorhout, 1993. 
• Translations:
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