247 - An earring shaped like a round, flared cup with a hollowed-out base. Decorated with a mosaic composition of feathers depicting a figure with outstretched arms, wearing a skirt and a hat with a half-moon-shaped headdress, set within an arrangement of two floral registers (21 flowers) surrounded by two fine borders. The rear pin for attaching it to the earlobe is missing. This object is the matching piece, forming a pair with the one on display at the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels (Pre-Columbian Antiquities section), which was also acquired from the Deletaille Gallery in 1970.

An earring shaped like a round, flared cup with a hollowed-out base. Decorated with a mosaic composition of feathers depicting a figure with outstretched arms, wearing a skirt and a hat with a half-moon-shaped headdress, set within an arrangement of two floral registers (21 flowers) surrounded by two fine borders. The rear pin for attaching it to the earlobe is missing. This object is the matching piece, forming a pair with the one on display at the Cinquantenaire Museum in Brussels (Pre-Columbian Antiquities section), which was also acquired from the Deletaille Gallery in 1970. Diameter: 13.7 cm. Northern coast of Peru. Chimu civilization. 1100–1400 AD Provenance: Galerie Deletaille, Brussels (according to a 1986 insurance inventory, illustrated) Private collection, Brussels, acquired from the previous owner in 1985 Passed down through the family An expert report identifying the feathers will be provided to the purchaser. Certain species are listed in Appendix II of the Washington Convention, Appendix B of European Community Regulation 338/97 of December 9, 1996, and the French Environmental Code. To export the item out of the EU, a CITES re-export permit will be required. A very rare work of art; its ephemeral composition and materials demonstrate the technical and artistic mastery of the Chimu civilization. Feather-covered ponchos are well documented in Andean cultures, as are the extraordinary feather “paintings” from the colonial era; however, few three-dimensional objects incorporating feather mosaic work have survived from these ancient cultures. What is striking here is not only the vibrancy and intensity of the colors but also the craftsmanship and precision combined with the excellent state of preservation.