Ecuador | Three Tolita Gold Nose Ornaments | | David Bernstein Pre-Columbian Art. Extensive inventory of Pre-Columbian art from South America, including ancient objects in ceramic, textiles, bronze, copper and gold.

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Ecuador, 7 La Tolita Gold with Platinum Miniature Ear Ornaments with Turquoise Inlays
Each ornament has an inlayed turquoise stone and a suspension ring. These are excellent examples of early granulation and sintering techniques. Sintering is the process of melting gold foil over platinum which can then be reheated and annealed to fashion small objects. Similar ear ornaments are published in The Gold of Eldorado, by Warwick Bray and in Charms in Pre-Columbian Ecuador by Christian Mesia Montenegro. Acquired in 1994 from an old estate auction.
Period: Ecuador, La Tolita, c. 1500 BC
Media: Metal
Dimensions: Approx. Length: 1" each. Weight: 4 grams.
$4,600
94203

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Ecuador, 7 La Tolita Gold with Platinum Miniature Ear Ornaments with Turquoise Inlays

Each ornament has an inlayed turquoise stone and a suspension ring. These are excellent examples of early granulation and sintering techniques. Sintering is the process of melting gold foil over platinum which can then be reheated and annealed to fashion small objects. Similar ear ornaments are published in The Gold of Eldorado, by Warwick Bray and in Charms in Pre-Columbian Ecuador by Christian Mesia Montenegro. Acquired in 1994 from an old estate auction.

Period: Ecuador, La Tolita, c. 1500 BC

Media: Metal

Dimensions: Approx. Length: 1" each. Weight: 4 grams.

$4,600

94203

Ecuador, Narino Gold Annealed Nose Ornament with Four Diamonds within a Square
This nose ornament is one of the largest examples from a cache of gold artifacts found in a tomb in the 1950s in Ecuador. The ornament uses an optical illusion to create the appearance of diamond-shaped cutouts, which are made of multiple quadrangle cut-outs. There are suspension holes for dangles above each square. This ornament is an excellent example of depletion gilding, a technique which brings the gold in the metal alloy to the surface through repeatedly heating the metal and rinsing it with acid. Similar examples are illustrated in MASTERWORKS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN GOLD: The Glassell Collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, p.151, and in The Art of Pre-Columbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection, p.59. Similar examples are also published in The Gold of Eldorado by Warwick Bray, on p. 218. Ex-Jan Mitchell collection, acquired prior to the 1980s, by descent to his son David Mitchell.
Period: Ecuador, Narino, Capuli, Southern border with Ecuador, c. AD 700 - 1500
Media: Metal
Dimensions: Height: 2.75" x Width 7.9" Weight: 41.5 grams.
$16,000
n7050

2 / 4

Ecuador, Narino Gold Annealed Nose Ornament with Four Diamonds within a Square

This nose ornament is one of the largest examples from a cache of gold artifacts found in a tomb in the 1950s in Ecuador. The ornament uses an optical illusion to create the appearance of diamond-shaped cutouts, which are made of multiple quadrangle cut-outs. There are suspension holes for dangles above each square. This ornament is an excellent example of depletion gilding, a technique which brings the gold in the metal alloy to the surface through repeatedly heating the metal and rinsing it with acid. Similar examples are illustrated in MASTERWORKS OF PRE-COLUMBIAN GOLD: The Glassell Collections of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, p.151, and in The Art of Pre-Columbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection, p.59. Similar examples are also published in The Gold of Eldorado by Warwick Bray, on p. 218. Ex-Jan Mitchell collection, acquired prior to the 1980s, by descent to his son David Mitchell.

Period: Ecuador, Narino, Capuli, Southern border with Ecuador, c. AD 700 - 1500

Media: Metal

Dimensions: Height: 2.75" x Width 7.9" Weight: 41.5 grams.

$16,000

n7050

3 / 4

Ecuador, Three Tolita Gold Nose Ornaments

Three gold U-shaped miniature nose ornaments, each with a different pattern of granulation. The U-shape would likely have been created using lost wax casting and then granulated. Granulation uses heat only to attach the small spheres to the cast. A similar piece is illustrated in Charms in Pre-Columbian Ecuador by Christian Mesia Montenegro, 2007, on pages 53 and 55.

Period: Ecuador, La Tolita, c. 1500 - 400 BC

Media: Metal

Dimensions: Diameter: 7/8 - 2 3/8 inches. Weight:12.2 grams.

$4,500

99128

Ecuador, Tolita Gold Labret with Granulated Design and Turquoise Center
This small but early example of granulation of eight separate granulations section fitted on a gold plate on top of the stem. This is a tour de force of early metal working in the Americas.
Period: Ecuador, La Tolita, c. 1500 - 400 BC
Media: Metal
Dimensions: Depth: 1/2" x Face: 3/4" X 3/4"
$2,200
99600

4 / 4

Ecuador, Tolita Gold Labret with Granulated Design and Turquoise Center

This small but early example of granulation of eight separate granulations section fitted on a gold plate on top of the stem. This is a tour de force of early metal working in the Americas.

Period: Ecuador, La Tolita, c. 1500 - 400 BC

Media: Metal

Dimensions: Depth: 1/2" x Face: 3/4" X 3/4"

$2,200

99600