Tumi (ceremonial knife) with figural finial
Tumi (ceremonial knife) with figural finial

On view

Art of the Ancient Americas

Tumi (ceremonial knife) with figural finial,

1470–1532

Chimú - Inka
Late Horizon
2014-47
Among the Inka, crescent-bladed knives, known as tumis, were used to sacrifice llamas during the harvest festival celebrated in gratitude to the sun for abundant crops. This tumi’s handle and finial were cast in bronze with inlays of highly valued exotic materials, while the blade is hammered silver. The two figures at the top of the handle represent the gifting of kero cups among noblemen: Pairs of identical cups for drinking chicha corn beer were given to provincial governors and officials to cement pacts concerning land rights, trade agreements, and marriage alliances. This tumi may have been made to commemorate this ceremonial exchange of keros. This object was made by Chimú artisans working to fulfil Inka imperial demand. The addition of tin to the bronze reflects the Inka practice of moving artisans and materials around the empire to create objects and metal alloys that would be uniquely Inka, while details belied the identity of individual makers.
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Information

Title
Tumi (ceremonial knife) with figural finial
Dates

1470–1532

Medium
Cast copper-tin alloy with malachite, spondylus, and mussel shell inlay (handle and finial); silver, with small percentage of gold (blade)
Dimensions
20 × 18.4 × 5.1 cm (7 7/8 × 7 1/4 × 2 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund
Object Number
2014-47
Place Made

South America, Peru, Central highlands

Culture
Inca
Period
Late horizon
Type
ceremonial knives
Materials
copper, gold, tin, malachite, silver, alloy, wax, shell
Techniques
inlay (process)
Subject
festivals, rituals (events), figures (representations), mythology, finials

December 1969, André Emmerich Gallery, New York (SO-9666), sold to Dr. Daniel Rifkin New York [1]. March 4, 1989, Merrin Gallery, New York, sold to US private collection [2]; 2014, sold to the Princeton University Art Museum.

Notes:
[1] According to the Emmerich Gallery inventory card, Sotheby’s, New York, copy held in the curatorial file and Dr. Rifkin’s ledger book.
[2] According to documentation from US private collection.

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