Large Pin (Tupu)
Decorative Arts and Design
After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire and the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru, female members of the Indigenous elite wore elaborate tupus, or pins, as a sign of their social status and descent from Inca royalty. All three seen here incorporate European iconography into an Indigenous art form. Made of gold, silver, copper, or bronze, Inca tupus were a basic element of female attire, used to secure dresses and shawls. Larger ones, such as the center example with a flat shaft, were worn in matching pairs suspended from the neck so the disk-shaped heads covered the chest.
During the colonial period, European techniques of repoussé and engraving were introduced. Repoussé, which is raised relief produced by hammering on the reverse, is seen in the two examples at the left, with heraldic rampant felines and a stylized urn with grapes. The tupu at the right is engraved with the double-headed eagle of the Hapsburg Empire, which ruled Europe, Spain, and, by extension, Spain’s colonies in the Americas until the early nineteenth century.
MEDIUM
Silver
DATES
17th–18th century
ACCESSION NUMBER
41.1275.238
CREDIT LINE
Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Large, disk-shaped pin (tupu) with a repoussé design of a stylized urn with branches of grapes, a common ornamental form derived from vases that flank altars frequently seen in Cusco statue paintings. This tupu, which was meant to be worn upside down, was used by Andean women to secure their dresses and shawls.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Large Pin (Tupu), 17th–18th century. Silver, 12 1/8 x 6 5/16 in. (30.8 x 16 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1941, Frank L. Babbott Fund, 41.1275.238. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 41.1275.238_41.1275.241_41.1275.242_PS6.jpg)
IMAGE
41.1275.238_41.1275.241_41.1275.242_PS6.jpg.
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