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- 950 Silver Condor Pendant Spondylus Drop
950 Silver Condor Pendant Spondylus Drop
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$185.00
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Product Description
Beautifully Handcrafted in 950 Silver with a Spondylus Shell Drop. Hallmarked Reknowned Artisan in Cusco Peru.
Exclusive in Australia to Nine50. Width 4cm x Height 2 cm. Black Plaited 50cm Necklace Included.
The condor, puma and snake are symbolic representations of the three stages of Inca life. The condor represents the heavens, the puma the middle world of earth, and the snake represents the underworld.
The large size of condors and their ability to travel long distances – they can fly from Lima to the Andes – are among the main reasons why the Incas thought the birds were messengers from the heavens. Condors also had a connection between the earth and skies, and they were thought to carry the dead to the afterlife on their wings. The Andes people believed the condor was a sacred bird. The condor is now a symbol of freedom, strength and peace.
Spondylus shell was symbols of abundance and land fertility for many Precolumbian cultures. Spondylus was also used in funeral rituals and ceremonies to enable good communication with the afterlife. In the central Andes, with records existing from AD 900. Spondylus artefacts and shells were often buried as offering in fields to ensure good harvests. Shamans in Ecuador and in the north of Peru were aware of the relationship between rainfall and the presence of Spondylus in the seas. The presence of large numbers of the shells in the north of Peru was associated with the phenomenon of El Niño – causing higher rainfalls and poor harvests. On the other hand, the total absence of Spondylus implied a time of drought. Spondylus shells were more valuable than gold or even silver, and only Shamans or elders were allowed to wear or use them.
