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Standing figure

500 BCE–300 CE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 360
The three-dimensional figures of the Tolita-Tumaco area are among the most striking of Precolumbian gold objects. The present example is particularly distinguished by its fancy nose ornament, evidence that some form of headdress was once present, and by the position of the hands, which originally held objects now missing, perhaps an atlatl and darts. The feet too have been lost. Made of many pieces of high-quality sheet gold, the figure may have been clothed for special occasions. The Tolita-Tumaco style area crosses the Colombia-Ecuador border along the humid Pacific coast.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Standing figure
  • Artist: Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
  • Date: 500 BCE–300 CE
  • Geography: Colombia or Ecuador
  • Culture: Tolita-Tumaco
  • Medium: Gold
  • Dimensions: H. 9 × W. 7 1/4 × D. 3 3/4 in. (22.9 × 18.4 × 9.5 cm)
  • Classification: Metal-Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Jan Mitchell and Sons Collection, Gift of Jan Mitchell, 1995
  • Object Number: 1995.427
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

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Nose ornament, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Gold, silver, Tolita-Tumaco
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500 BCE–300 CE
Bench figure, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Ceramic, gold, post-fire paint, Tolita-Tumaco
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Tolita-Tumaco artist(s)
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Seated elder, Tolita-Tumaco artist(s), Ceramic, Tolita-Tumaco
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