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Monkey Pendant

450–900 CE

Not on view

This monkey-shaped pendant is crafted of copal—a tree resin often used as incense—and partly covered with hammered gold sheet. The looped tail is a clever nod to the behavior of spider monkeys: just as a monkey grasps a branch with its tail, the tail here would grasp the necklace cord.

Este dije con forma de mono está hecho de copal, una resina de árbol muy utilizada como incienso, y está parcialmente cubierto con oro martillado. La cola curvada se refiere al comportamiento de los monos araña. Efectivamente, así como el mono agarra una rama con su cola, la cola podría sujetar el hilo del collar.

Monkey Pendant, Copal, gold, Coclé — This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Monkey Pendant

Date: 450–900 CE

Geography: Panama, Herrera Province, Azuero Peninsula

Culture: Coclé

Medium: Copal, gold

Dimensions: H. 1 9/16 × W. 2 3/4 in. (4 × 7 cm)

Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Gold

Credit Line: National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (23/2352)

The Met

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at The Met

The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.