Armband

700–900 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.
The complex repoussé (raised relief) design on this helmet features three double-headed crocodilians with anthropomorphic bodies, reptilian claws, long jaws with upturned snouts, and crests. The thirty-six holes around the rim may have been used to attach dangling ornaments or feather inserts. The armband has mirror images of crocodilians with birds perched on or above their tails. The helmet and armband (one of a pair) were found among numerous ornaments in the tomb of an elderly male, one of the richest burials at Sitio Conte.




El complejo diseño repujado de este casco (relieve realzado desde la cara posterior) presenta tres cocodrilos de dos cabezas con cuerpos antropomórficos, garras de reptiles, largas mandíbulas con hocicos respingados y crestas. Es probable que las treinta y seis perforaciones que rodean el borde del casco fueran utilizadas para colgar adornos o insertar plumas. El brazalete tiene imágenes enfrentadas de cocodrilos con aves posadas sobre sus rabos. El casco y el brazalete (uno de un par) fueron encontrados con numerosos otros adornos en la tumba de un hombre anciano (Entierro 5). Éste es uno de los entierros más opulentos de Sitio Conte.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Armband
  • Date: 700–900 CE
  • Geography: Panama
  • Culture: Coclé
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 5 5/16 × W. 2 15/16 × D. 3 1/16 in. (13.5 × 7.4 × 7.8 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Gold
  • Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum Expedition, 1931 (31-36-20/C13368)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing