Miniature slingshot
The cradle and beads of this miniature slingshot were made from hammered silver sheet and connected with cotton thread. Made by artisans of the Chancay or Chimú cultures that thrived on the central and northern coast of Peru in the last centuries before the rise of the Inca Empire, it is part of a larger group of 35 of miniature silver objects representing musical instruments, digging sticks, throwing sticks, and other items, including components of a funerary procession such as a litter (King, et al., 2000:48, no. 19). The precise meaning of such miniatures is unknown, but they may have served a votive purpose in their original context (see Hamilton, 2018, on the subject of scale in the Andes).
In addition to maces and spears or darts, slingshots were a major weapon in Precolumbian Peru. Woven slingshots were found associated with some of the earliest textiles known in the Americas, dated to the Pre-Ceramic period, or 10,000—1,800 BCE (Bird, 1985), and were common at later times in the central and southern coastal regions. Slingshots were made of many different materials including cotton, wool, beads, reeds, and combinations of these and other materials (Owen and Flynn, 2017; see also 1987.394.669). The cradle—the part of the slingshot that held the projectile, such as a stone—was made in a variety of forms: some were cup-like, whereas others were shaped using thicker cable-like braids.
References and Further Reading
Bird, Junius. The Preceramic Excavations at the Huaca Prieta, Chicama Valley, Peru (New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 62, pt. 1, 1985).
Hamilton, Andrew. Scale & The Incas (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018).
King, Heidi, Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, and Paloma Carcedo de Mufarech. Rain of the Moon: Silver in Ancient Peru (New York, New Haven and London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000).
Owen, Rodrick, and Terry N. Flynn. Sling Braiding Traditions and Techniques: From Peru, Bolivia, and Around the World (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2017).
In addition to maces and spears or darts, slingshots were a major weapon in Precolumbian Peru. Woven slingshots were found associated with some of the earliest textiles known in the Americas, dated to the Pre-Ceramic period, or 10,000—1,800 BCE (Bird, 1985), and were common at later times in the central and southern coastal regions. Slingshots were made of many different materials including cotton, wool, beads, reeds, and combinations of these and other materials (Owen and Flynn, 2017; see also 1987.394.669). The cradle—the part of the slingshot that held the projectile, such as a stone—was made in a variety of forms: some were cup-like, whereas others were shaped using thicker cable-like braids.
References and Further Reading
Bird, Junius. The Preceramic Excavations at the Huaca Prieta, Chicama Valley, Peru (New York: Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, vol. 62, pt. 1, 1985).
Hamilton, Andrew. Scale & The Incas (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2018).
King, Heidi, Luis Jaime Castillo Butters, and Paloma Carcedo de Mufarech. Rain of the Moon: Silver in Ancient Peru (New York, New Haven and London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000).
Owen, Rodrick, and Terry N. Flynn. Sling Braiding Traditions and Techniques: From Peru, Bolivia, and Around the World (Atglen, PA: Schiffer, 2017).
Artwork Details
- Title: Miniature slingshot
- Artist: Chimú or Chancay artist(s)
- Date: 1300–1470 CE
- Geography: Peru, North or Central Coast
- Culture: Chimú or Chancay
- Medium: Silver, feathers, wood
- Dimensions: H. 2 1/2 × W. 8 × D. 1 × L. 18 1/8 in. (6.4 × 20.3 × 2.5 × 46 cm)
- Classification: Metal-Implements
- Credit Line: Bequest of Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection of Arnold I. Goldberg, 1986
- Object Number: 1987.394.668
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Wari artist(s)
650–1000 CE
Moche artist(s)
400–700 CE
Moche artist(s)
400–700 CE
Lambayeque (Sicán) artist(s)
900–1100 CE
Chincha artist(s)
1200–1535 CE
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.