Description

In the Andes, women used a pin, known as a tupu, to fasten their shawls or another articles of clothing. The most common tupus had a large circular head. This example, in contrast, boasts an unusual filigree decoration of four circles. Filigree techniques were most common in the northern Andes. The dating of this piece is unclear but it arrived at the museum in a lot of early colonial metalwork and may also come from this period.