Pectoral with Face

Goldsmiths in the Calima region of southwestern Colombia produced spectacular gold regalia in what is known as the Yotoco period (100 BCE–800 CE). Worn by high-ranking individuals in life and in death, their bodies would have been nearly completely covered with ornaments made of gold sheet. The most elaborate ornaments were clustered around the head and chest. This I-shaped pectoral is dominated by a face rendered in high relief, the mouth obscured by an H-shaped nose ornament attached by gold two wires, and large, circular ear ornaments. Two perforations at the top of the head would allow the pectoral to be strung on a cord and suspended from the wearer’s neck.

The pectoral was formed by hammering and cutting gold sheet, adding further embellishment by working the sheet from behind (repoussé) to create delicate patterning along the edges of the ornament. The face itself was likely made with the use of a form made of wood or a similar material to create the serene, inexpressive face that is found on many works of this period. This stylized face is also found on headdress ornaments (see accession number 66.196.24) and tweezer-like arm ornaments (see accession number 1974.271.51).

This pectoral was once part of an ensemble that would have included a headdress, ornaments for the nose, ears, arms, and sometimes legs, along with regalia such as a staff, spear-thrower, flask, and lime dipper (see, for example, accession number 1991.419.23). Enveloped in gold, a material closely associated with the generative power of the sun, Calima elites in full regalia would have been a spectacular sight in performance, radiant figures of sacred power.

References and Further reading


Botero, Clara Isabel, Roberto Lleras Pérez, Santiago Londoño Vélez and Efraín Sánchez Cabra. The Art of Gold, The Legacy of Pre-Hispanic Colombia: Collection of the Gold Museum of Bogotá. Mexico, D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, Banco de la República, 2007.

Jones, Julie, ed. The Art of Precolumbian Gold: The Jan Mitchell Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985.

Pérez de Barradas, José. Orfebrería Prehispánica de Colombia Estilo Calima. Bogotá, Colombia: Banco de la República, 1954.

Morand, Marie Claude. Calima: Colombie précolombienne. Martigny, Switzerland: Foundation Pierre Gianadda, 1992.

Schrimpff, Marianne Cardale, ed. Calima and Malagana: Art and Archaeology in Southwestern Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia: Pro Calima Foundation, 2005.

Uribe Villegas, María Alicia and Marcos Martinón-Torres, "Metallurgy and Prestige in Ancient Colombia: Yotoco and Malagana Adornment and Muisca Offerings," in Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter, Golden Kingdoms: Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, pp. 44-53. Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2017.