MAPUCHE SILVERWORK ART

Mapuche silversmiths (Rutuchafe) in 18th–19th century Chile/Argentina forged splendid silver jewelry—heavy breastplates (trapelacucha) with rows of coins, star-shaped headpieces, elaborate earrings—often derived from Spanish colonial coins traded for cattle. These pieces were worn by women as symbols of status and spiritual protection (the sound warding off evil). This resilient Mapuche heritage art, inclusive in its melding of two worlds, remains a proud emblem of identity and resistance, sparkling with cultural significance.