These two gold objects are part of an unusual discovery in an area known as High Piura (Alto Piura) in the Frías Valley. Tombs dating from between 200 and 600 AD and containing various gold items—vessels, jewellery and human- and feline-shaped figures—were discovered and looted from 1943 to 1950. Gold slag from the ancient smelting process was also found in the area. Although the valley in which the grave sites were found had been dominated by the Vicús and Moche cultures, the iconography and construction of the grave goods had much more in common with that of cultures further north, in modern-day Ecuador and Colombia, than with any known Peruvian counterparts. Indeed, the culture of the Tolita-Tumaco, who lived in the northern coastal areas of Ecuador and southern Colombia, produced similar material from 450 AD. The objects found in High Piura are generally known as Frías style, although some have been attributed to either the Vicús or Moche cultures by certain collecting institutions.¹

The Frías style is characterised by intricate gold techniques and objects covered in discs and pendants in various sizes. Platinum and, in some cases, silver was also used to accentuate specific features such as teeth and the whites of an eye (cat. 22). Specific metalwork techniques widely found on Frías style objects include beading, sometimes referred to as sequins, made by dropping small pieces of gold onto hot coals. Fine examples of twisted and braided gold wire also appear on many of the metal objects from this group. Producing the wire decorations combined the processes of soldering, adding resins and heating with steam and bellows. Metal was also embossed and cut to create other decorative effects.²

Predominantly made of gold, the weasel exemplifies the Frías style preference for sculptural figures, both animal and human. Each section—the pointed head with open jaws, the neck, the elongated tubular body, the thin tail and the four bent legs—was formed separately from gold sheet, then all were soldered together. The figure displays many of the techniques common to Frías style: gold beading and twisted wire have been applied along the top of the head, around the eyes, in two rows of convex circles around the neck, and they have also been used to form three rows of concentric circles along the body and tail. Green chrysocolla inlay enhances the eyes, and a small section of red-orange spondylus shell can be seen beneath the whiskers. Dangling below the body are 19 discs, while on each side of the face, four more are attached to the curved whiskers. The area under the chin is inlaid with a triangle of sodalite. The mouth of the weasel is made from platinum, with two rows of jagged teeth and a prominent set of long fangs that protrude from the upper and lower jaw.

The crown is made from a simple band of gold. Twenty-six 
pieces of gold wire have been affixed to the edge by having 
one end punched through like a staple. The other end has then been bent into a circular eye for gold discs to hang down from. This creates an effect comparable to the discs on the weasel’s stomach and nose and is typical of the Frías style. Cinnabar powder was originally rubbed over the entire surface of the crown to give it a brilliant red colour, but much of this has subsequently been removed. Other Frías style crowns exist, with the addition of a decorative element attached to the front. An example in the Museo Oro del Perú has an ornament remarkably like the weasel—both have the large protruding fangs and danglers attached to the whiskers.³

Simeran Maxwell

1. For instance The Venus of Frías is part of this group, but has been attributed to the Vicús culture by the Sala de Oro del Museo Municipal Vicús, Piura.

2. Gabriel Schwörbel Hoessel, ‘The forgers of metal’, in Victoria Mujica (ed.), Oro del Peru Museum, Lima: Fundación Miguel Mujica Gallo 2009, p. 88.

3. See cat. 145, in L’empire Inca et les trésors du Pérou, Montreal: Société des Grands Evénements de Montréal 1989, p. 65.

These two gold objects are part of an unusual discovery in an area known as High Piura (Alto Piura) in the Frías Valley. Tombs dating from between 200 and 600 AD and containing various gold items—vessels, jewellery and human- and feline-shaped figures—were discovered and looted from 1943 to 1950. Gold slag from the ancient smelting process was also found in the area. Although the valley in which the grave sites were found had been dominated by the Vicús and Moche cultures, the iconography and construction of the grave goods had much more in common with that of cultures further north, in modern-day Ecuador and Colombia, than with any known Peruvian counterparts. Indeed, the culture of the Tolita-Tumaco, who lived in the northern coastal areas of Ecuador and southern Colombia, produced similar material from 450 AD. The objects found in High Piura are generally known as Frías style, although some have been attributed to either the Vicús or Moche cultures by certain collecting institutions.¹

The Frías style is characterised by intricate gold techniques and objects covered in discs and pendants in various sizes. Platinum and, in some cases, silver was also used to accentuate specific features such as teeth and the whites of an eye (cat. 22). Specific metalwork techniques widely found on Frías style objects include beading, sometimes referred to as sequins, made by dropping small pieces of gold onto hot coals. Fine examples of twisted and braided gold wire also appear on many of the metal objects from this group. Producing the wire decorations combined the processes of soldering, adding resins and heating with steam and bellows. Metal was also embossed and cut to create other decorative effects.²

Predominantly made of gold, the weasel exemplifies the Frías style preference for sculptural figures, both animal and human. Each section—the pointed head with open jaws, the neck, the elongated tubular body, the thin tail and the four bent legs—was formed separately from gold sheet, then all were soldered together. The figure displays many of the techniques common to Frías style: gold beading and twisted wire have been applied along the top of the head, around the eyes, in two rows of convex circles around the neck, and they have also been used to form three rows of concentric circles along the body and tail. Green chrysocolla inlay enhances the eyes, and a small section of red-orange spondylus shell can be seen beneath the whiskers. Dangling below the body are 19 discs, while on each side of the face, four more are attached to the curved whiskers. The area under the chin is inlaid with a triangle of sodalite. The mouth of the weasel is made from platinum, with two rows of jagged teeth and a prominent set of long fangs that protrude from the upper and lower jaw.

The crown is made from a simple band of gold. Twenty-six 
pieces of gold wire have been affixed to the edge by having 
one end punched through like a staple. The other end has then been bent into a circular eye for gold discs to hang down from. This creates an effect comparable to the discs on the weasel’s stomach and nose and is typical of the Frías style. Cinnabar powder was originally rubbed over the entire surface of the crown to give it a brilliant red colour, but much of this has subsequently been removed. Other Frías style crowns exist, with the addition of a decorative element attached to the front. An example in the Museo Oro del Perú has an ornament remarkably like the weasel—both have the large protruding fangs and danglers attached to the whiskers.³

Simeran Maxwell

1. For instance The Venus of Frías is part of this group, but has been attributed to the Vicús culture by the Sala de Oro del Museo Municipal Vicús, Piura.

2. Gabriel Schwörbel Hoessel, ‘The forgers of metal’, in Victoria Mujica (ed.), Oro del Peru Museum, Lima: Fundación Miguel Mujica Gallo 2009, p. 88.

3. See cat. 145, in L’empire Inca et les trésors du Pérou, Montreal: Société des Grands Evénements de Montréal 1989, p. 65.