Frog-shaped applique for tunic. Paracas, Peru, ca. 300-200 B.C.

Frog-shaped applique for tunic. Paracas, Peru, ca. 300-200 B.C.
Gold.
Provenance: private collection Ian Arundel Old Curiosity Shop, Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, US.
Measurements: 4.5 cm.

This small but remarkable frog-shaped applique is an excellent example of the gold work of the Paracas culture, one of the most sophisticated of ancient Peru in the field of gold work. The piece, made of hammered gold leaf and decorated with embossing, has a stylized design with prominent eyes and a body covered with circular motifs, probably alluding to the texture of the animal's skin. The Punctures indicate its function as an element sewn to a garment, possibly a ceremonial tunic.

The applique not only fulfilled an ornamental function, but also a symbolic one, integrating itself into the complex visual and ritual language of Paracas textiles, where gold reinforced the status and sacred dimension of the wearer.