Pendant

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.
This small pendant of a mythological creature with a naturalistic human face and pinniped-like limbs is a masterpiece of Coclé lost-wax gold casting. The figure is topped by a broad headdress with crenulated wings. A loop on the reverse of the head would have allowed for suspension from a fiber cord.



Este pequeño colgante que representa un ser mitológico coclé con un rostro humano naturalista y patas de pinnípedo es una obra maestra de oro realizada por fundición a la cera perdida utilizada por el pueblo Coclé. La figura tiene un amplio tocado con alas dentadas. Una curva en el revés de la cabeza habría permitido su suspensión de una cuerda de fibra.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pendant
  • Date: 700–900 CE
  • Geography: Panama
  • Culture: Coclé
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 1 11/16 × W. 1 1/4 × D. 11/16 in. (4.3 × 3.2 × 1.7 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Ornaments, Gold
  • Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Peabody Museum Expedition, 1930 (30-49-20/C11068)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing