Medallion, beads, and spindle whorls

1000–1532 (medallion)

Medallion, beads, and spindle whorls, 1000–1532 (medallion). Central Andes, North Coast, Chimú (medallion). Bronze, copper, silver; diameter: 6.4 x 0.8 cm (2 1/2 x 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Norweb Collection 1951.173 This medallion and dozens of smaller beads and spindle whorls arrived at the museum strung on modern cord. Pierced with a hole at the top, it could have been suspended from a necklace or attached to a backing, such as a textile. It comes from Peru’s north coast and was made in the late pre-Hispanic period; the dates of the smaller beads are less clear.