I saw this in the Chicago Field Museum and immediately said to myself, "I bet I could make that!" SO I tried. Cutting this out was easy enough but I used thicker sheet copper so it took a bit more finesse to accomplish. Getting clean edges was another issue. After fussing that over I then left it out in the elements to get a weathered look. The originals were Hopewell in origin and can be found in the Early Americas exhibit on the first floor.
My only question is, was this a chest adornment? or something to wear over a loin cloth? They are fairly big as adornments go. 7X5 inches. Anyone have an idea? It has holes that indicate it was attached by cordage.
thanks for looking.