An ornament depicting a figure wearing a headdress and carrying a staff, with eyes and ears adorned with shells. This figure, a dignitary or warrior, is holding what is probably a command staff, unless it's a spear or ancient mace. He is wearing a crown with a frontal ornament linking him to the nobility. These headdresses, often found in the tombs of Mochica kings, notables, priests or other dignitaries, were adorned with an owl or human head in the center. This ornament was originally part of a headdress or funeral mantle. In addition to the beautiful greenish copper oxidation patina that covers this ornament, we note the beautiful laminated and repoussé style of classic Mochica art, in particular the powerful right hand of the warrior holding his spear, treated with geometric facets, and the left hand with its roundness. Mochica culture, early intermediate 100 B.C. to 800 A.D., Peru Embossed copper (or copper alloy), shells H. 5 cm - D. 7.5 cm See pp. 148-158 for other laminated and repoussé copper items in Pre-Columbian Art Of South America, Alan Lapiner, Ed. Harry Abrams New York 1976. Provenance : - Former Le Corneur Roudillon gallery collection, 1969 - Jean Roudillon Collection Exhibition: Pérou, Trouvaille d'objets en cuivre et argent, Galerie Le Corneur Roudillon, Paris, December 9 to 20, 1969