Important Note: These images are
presented for educational, scholarly, and artistic research purposes. It is
presented as a comparative analysis of weapons from various regions of Central America,
South America, North America, and the Caribbean, providing a tool for
students and collectors alike. However, these artifacts are not presented
for sale. While some pieces shown here are in the hands of private art and
antiquities dealers - we do not condone the sale of such pieces since many have been obtained through the looting of archaeological sites, or other
unlawful means. Buyers should always do business with ethical dealers,
and insist on complete legal provinance.
Armor - Mesoamerica - Aztec
Gold and turquoise mosaic Aztec Shield
Aztec Wooden Shield Covered In Feather
Design - rear view at right
Close Up Showing Gold Work
Aztec jaguar warrior (ocelōtl) with
shield (chimalli) and obsidian sword (mācuahuitl)
Wooden ceremonial shield with mosaic inlay -
An intricate mosaic which illustrates the Aztec universe -
Aztec/Mixtec, 15th-16th century AD From Mexico - Diameter: 31 cm
This wooden plaque was probably once the
central element of a strikingly vivid ceremonial shield. One of the
inventories which accompanied the shipments of objects sent to Spain by
Hernán Cortés (1485-1547) mentions that sixteen such shields were included.
The plaque is covered with
turquoise mosaic, shell and gilded beads. The beads were made of a resinous
gum and then coated with gold leaf. A kind of resin was used to secure the
mosaic work to the wooden base, although bitumen and wax were sometimes used
for this purpose. According to sixteenth-century descriptions, colored
feathers were used to decorate the edges of the shields made of stone mosaic
work. The holes around this example were probably made for this function.
In the centre is a solar disc,
picked out with red shell. A serpent, outlined by the gilded beads, coils
around a tree. This tree represents a 'world axis' that connects the
underworld, the earth and the sky. To the left and right of the serpent
there are four figures with raised arms. These are the Sky bearers, gods
whose role was to support the sky.
Reconstruction of a quilted cotton vest called
an ichcahuipilli, the most basic warrior garment. Worn under the tlahuiztli
or ehuatl, the vest gave the Aztec soldier a formidably stout appearance.
Helmets were carved from hardwood in a variety of heraldic shapes including
jaguars, eagles, and a demon of the air known as a tzitzimitl.
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Armor - Central America - Panama
Gold Laminate Arm Cuff
Conte Site
Panama
University of Pennsylvania Museum Collection
Ornate hammered gold helmet Cocle Style
Sito Conte Panama
The Moche people of northern Peru
(first–seventh century) were among the first to use copper, often with the
addition of arsenic to harden the metal and improve the quality of the cast.
Moche metalworkers hammered most of their precious metals—gold and
silver—into objects of sheet metal, but many works in copper were cast by
the lost-wax technique.
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Published by McGuinnessPublishing Created
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