Tweezers
| Culture | Chimú |
|---|---|
| Title | Tweezers |
| Date | 1100–1300 |
| Medium | Silver, turquoise, coral, abalone shell, stone, and and fiber |
| Dimensions | Object: 7 7/8 × 3 in. (20 × 7.6 cm) Overall: 7 7/8 x 3 in. (20 x 7.6 cm) |
| Credit Line | Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University |
| Accession Number | 72.21.4 |
| This artwork is currently on view. | |
Tweezers with a circular tweezing tool, and a stack of small colorful carved birds strung together extending from its handle. There is a circular design in low relief on the surface of the tweezing tool, which includes an anthropomorphic figure, with a human-like face, a curling tail, and long fingers or toes.
Elite members of Chimú society used tweezers such as these to remove facial and body hair. Although tweezers fashioned from gold and brass are also known, silver was perhaps the most popular metal among the Chimú (as suggested by the number of silver objects that have been found). Imagery on each disk represents creatures from land, air, and water: a feline is between a fish below and a bird above. The fiber cord, to which are attached turquoise beads alternating with birds and a feline, is handspun cotton, suggesting that the assembly is original.
Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.
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Cite this page
"Tweezers | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=72.21.4