Page 632 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

made of 138 solid gold bars, a golden helmet, six design is based on the conical bosses that are cords. The usual geometrical decoration is supple-
sheet-gold plaques, twelve disks, eight bracelets, characteristic of the Sinu style. The resemblance mented by repousse alligators.
an arm band, and a funnel-shaped object. All to female breasts may be fortuitous. Many of the The nose piece (or ear ornament) is an unusual
these offerings, which include both cast and ham- finest Sinu hammered items have two (or more) variant on the typical fan-shaped form from the
mered pieces, are of prime quality and may have large conical bosses, but there is no evidence that Sinu. Made by the false filigree technique, the
been the property of a single lord. It is unusual these objects were worn exclusively by women. main body of the ornament was assembled from
that the contents of the tomb have been kept The second crescent-shaped pectoral is similar, but wax threads and then cast in a single operation by
together, as in this case, rather than dispersed. with raised bosses and designs of jaguars attacking the lost-wax method. The design along the upper
Both the crescent-shaped breastplates have two huge snakes. The two circular pectorals are edge consists of a row of stylized birds, each with
holes for suspension. The repousse geometric smaller. They, too, have two holes for suspension a spiral body and a straight beak. w. B.

THE A M E R I C A S 631