These items of Moche jewellery display the owl image. The depiction on the nose ornament is unusual in its abstraction. A single bold line of flattened gold delineates the outer edges of the bird’s face and ears, and continues on to circle the eyes, simply but perfectly defining the distinctive markings of the owl. The only section of raised metal is the gentle curve of the beak which protrudes outward, and is also distinctive because it is made of white gold instead of gold. In contrast, the appearance of the owl’s head in the form of the gold bead is quite naturalistic. Many small ornamental elements like these would be strung together to form a necklace (see cat. 76). Both the bead and nose ornament demonstrate the Moche decorative technique of inlay—each owl’s eyes are made from inlaid stone. The bead has piercing green eyes made from turquoise, and the other owl’s are fashioned from a black stone, possibly obsidian, which was favoured for its reflective quality.

The owl plays an important role in the Moche pantheon. An anthropomorphised owl was one of the key supernatural warrior-gods, known variously as the Owl Warrior, the Bird Priest or the Plate-shirt God. Given this association, ornaments and jewellery depicting owls would only have been worn by the powerful military or priestly elite. While early Moche vessels depict the great horned owl (Bubo virginanus), during the later phases of the culture the owl symbol was merged with images of warriors carrying tumi blades. Indeed, the owl-headed warrior became a central figure in the warfare that led to the capture of prisoners for sacrifice. The bird is also associated with non-military ceremonial figures, such as priests and shamans, and it is an owl figure who leads the dead to the afterlife.¹ At the recently excavated Royal Tombs in Sipán, various elaborate grave goods displaying the owl motif have been found, including this striking little bead.²

Simeran Maxwell

1. Elizabeth P. Benson, The worlds of the Moche on the north coast of Peru, Austin: University of Texas Press 2012, pp. 74–76.

2. See Walter Alva and Christopher B. Donnan, Royal Tombs of Sipán, Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA 1993.

These items of Moche jewellery display the owl image. The depiction on the nose ornament is unusual in its abstraction. A single bold line of flattened gold delineates the outer edges of the bird’s face and ears, and continues on to circle the eyes, simply but perfectly defining the distinctive markings of the owl. The only section of raised metal is the gentle curve of the beak which protrudes outward, and is also distinctive because it is made of white gold instead of gold. In contrast, the appearance of the owl’s head in the form of the gold bead is quite naturalistic. Many small ornamental elements like these would be strung together to form a necklace (see cat. 76). Both the bead and nose ornament demonstrate the Moche decorative technique of inlay—each owl’s eyes are made from inlaid stone. The bead has piercing green eyes made from turquoise, and the other owl’s are fashioned from a black stone, possibly obsidian, which was favoured for its reflective quality.

The owl plays an important role in the Moche pantheon. An anthropomorphised owl was one of the key supernatural warrior-gods, known variously as the Owl Warrior, the Bird Priest or the Plate-shirt God. Given this association, ornaments and jewellery depicting owls would only have been worn by the powerful military or priestly elite. While early Moche vessels depict the great horned owl (Bubo virginanus), during the later phases of the culture the owl symbol was merged with images of warriors carrying tumi blades. Indeed, the owl-headed warrior became a central figure in the warfare that led to the capture of prisoners for sacrifice. The bird is also associated with non-military ceremonial figures, such as priests and shamans, and it is an owl figure who leads the dead to the afterlife.¹ At the recently excavated Royal Tombs in Sipán, various elaborate grave goods displaying the owl motif have been found, including this striking little bead.²

Simeran Maxwell

1. Elizabeth P. Benson, The worlds of the Moche on the north coast of Peru, Austin: University of Texas Press 2012, pp. 74–76.

2. See Walter Alva and Christopher B. Donnan, Royal Tombs of Sipán, Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, UCLA 1993.