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Inca Jewelry

The Inca jewelry was use in daily basis by the royal families, authorities of the kingdom and the Inca Ruler himself. The common citizens were using their gold and jewelry artifacts only for special celebrations and religious ceremonies. The Incas jewelry was develop from the daily use items, with applications of gold and gemstones to make it special.

Good examples of common Incas jewelry are the sandals, originally made from leather of llama, braided fiber and other materials. The Incas found the way to decorate common sandals with precious results. Several of these golden sandals are show to the public in museums, because they mainly find them in tombs.

The bangles were a common item in the Incas Society dress code. They make them of gold, colorful braided fibers, good luck seeds call Huairuro and other materials. Special bangles of gold were design for the Inca king for two reasons, as part of the Inca jewelry outfit for daily use and for religious ceremonies.

The Incas earrings define the social status of an Inca citizen. The new conquered cultures were not aloud to wear earrings, only the Inca Government authorities could aloud the use of earrings. They were heavy pieces of gold, that stretch their ear lobes so much, that sometimes their ear lobes could touch their shoulders.

One remarkable piece of Inca jewelry is the golden chest apron. It was two pieces that cover the entire thorax, join on the shoulders and tie on the sides with textiles. The chest aprons were use as an armor for the Inca warriors, made in copper with an internal layer of llama leather to protect the skin.

The crowns were a common piece in the Inca Clothing outfit; they make them of llama leather, textiles and gold. The difference was on the meaning of the crown, some of them make difference of social status, military level or government authority. The Incas use feathers to decorate the crowns. The Inca king gold crown was the Mascaipacha; It was the most important and priceless piece of Inca jewelry of the entire kingdom.

The Incas make necklaces from seed, gemstones, seashells, leather, braided textiles, gold and everything else that they believe that was shiny enough to decorate themselves. The Inca jewelry artisans dedicate their life to find out new ways to wear more gold. The Incas believe, more gold equal more religious, so the Inca king golden necklace was huge and heavy, for sure it wasn't comfortable at all.

The copper tibia protections were an exclusive part of the Inca Warrior armor. Now, remember for the Incas more gold, more religious and social status. So, Inca artisans start to make tibia protections of gold, because the idea was to cover your body with as much gold as possible.

The nose rings and the falconry made of gold were important in the Inca jewelry outfit of the Inca King. They were design for special celebrations, burial ceremonies and religious purposes. They were not use by the common Inca citizen. The nose rings were large circular plaques of Inca Gold, attach to the nose by pressure.

The Incas idea of gold is not like ours, they believe the gold was the male image of their god. The gold did not have any monetary value exchange; it did not mean that you are richer or poorer. The Incas believe that wear gold Inca jewelry mean, that you are bless by the Inca Gods more than the others.