Bell with Bird at Top

900–1521 CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Bells constitute one of the largest classes of metal objects deposited in the Sacred Cenote. Likely attached to clothing, they attest to the auditory aspects of ritual practices at Chichen Itza and other sacred centers. These cast gold bells and pendants were produced in the Veraguas-Chiriquí region of ancient Costa Rica and Panama.




Los cascabeles eran una de las más importantes clases de objetos de metal depositadas en el Cenote Sagrado. Muy probablemente sujetadas a las prendas, reflejan las prácticas rituales auditivas de Chichen Itzá y otros centros sagrados. Estos cascabeles moldeados hechos de una aleación de oro y los pendientes de cabeza de venado eran elaborados en la región de Veraguas-Chiriquí, en el antiguo Panamá y Costa Rica.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Bell with Bird at Top
  • Date: 900–1521 CE
  • Geography: Costa Rica or Panama; Mexico, Yucatan
  • Culture: Veraguas-Chiriquí
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 1 5/8 × W. 13/16 × D. 9/16 in. (4.1 × 2.1 × 1.5 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Gold
  • Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Gift of C. P. Bowditch and Charles Peabody, 1910 (10-73-20/C7729)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing