Gilded Copper Shirt

Room 9, Vitrine 113

Metal, ceramic
Peruvian Northern Coast
1 AD – 800 AD
ML100867, ML001540, ML012870, ML012871

Ceremonial shirts were important symbols of power and status. The most elaborate examples featured plaques made from precious metals which would shine and rattle as the wearer moved. These shirts were also used to clothe the rulers after death.

Gilded discs were incorporated into several types of ornaments from an early date. Crowns, shirts and other personal adornments featured discs, as we can see in Vicus art and, very often, in the art of the Mochica culture.

Vicus gilded copper discs; Mochica pottery representing individuals carrying and wearing ceremonial shirts.