migratory birds, the sacred messengers

Because gold (quri) in the Inca empire was understood not as a means of payment but as the “sweat of the sun”, and thus as a purely sacred material, the priests and goldsmiths made exalted works of art for the gods. Golden bird figures as a bridge to the sun: in the temples — above all in the legendary sun temple Coricancha in Cusco — stood life-sized and filigree miniature figures of pure gold. The gleaming metal was to catch the divine light and show the messenger birds their way.