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Bird Pin or Spatula

5th–9th century
Not on view
The bird at the top of this spatula is worked in a style found in the art of Tiwanaku, an influential city-state of the second half of the first millennium A.D. in the highland basin of Lake Titicaca in modern Bolivia. the "pin" may have been used to hold clothing in place or perhaps as a lime spatula. The ritual use of coca leaves, to which powdered lime is added with a spoon or spatula, has been a tradition in Andean South America for thousands of years.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bird Pin or Spatula
  • Date: 5th–9th century
  • Geography: Bolivia, Lake Titicaca region
  • Culture: Tiwanaku
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 13 3/8 x W. 1/2 in. (34 x 1.3 cm)
  • Classification: Metal-Implements
  • Credit Line: The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.206.753
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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