# Shell with Inlaid Feline

- Date: 100 BCE–700 CE
- Medium: Spondylus shell with shell, stone, and gold inlay
- Classification: Jewelry
- Dimensions: Overall: 7.5 x 7.4 cm (2 15/16 x 2 15/16 in.)
- Culture: Peru, South Coast, Nasca
- Credit line: In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.567)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.567/1950.567_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This ornament is made of a spondylus shell, from which the exterior surface has been carved away to reveal a layer of bright orange. The pampas cat inlaid on the surface in multicolored shell and stone has bean-shaped spots on his body, and grasps a gold gourd or fruit. In both Paracas and Nasca art, the small, non-domesticated pampas cat is strongly associated with beans and other crops. Perhaps it was thought to guard the fields from rodents and other pests.