Panama, Veraguas or Parita style, c. 1000-1550 / c. 1000–1550
Animal-Headed Figure Pendant
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Animal-Headed Figure Pendant as metalwork (Panama, Veraguas or Parita style, c. 1000-1550 · c. 1000–1550).
The figure wears an elaborate headdress that is flanked by fierce-looking crocodilians in profile.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as cast gold.
The museum's collection notes: The culture area that extends from southern Central America to northern South America is generally referred to as the Intermediate Region because of its location between the two high culture zones of Mesoamerica and the central Andes. Research to date indicates that the pre-Columbian peoples of the Intermediate Region were organized into small, competitive chiefdoms, rather than large-scale states or empires. Despite political competition and warfare, trade in prestige goods such as jade and gold was common. Gold, obtained through panning and mining, was worked by hammering and lost-wax casting to produce intricate and showy personal ornament
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtAnimal-Headed Figure PendantOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.