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Gold figure

Avimorph pendants are among the most frequently found metal objects in the archaeological region of Gran Nicoya. The inventoried figure appears to combine the attributes of various creatures (eagle, vulture, hummingbird, toucan). Although the headdress and the oversized tail sections of the object are very flat, they have no additional decoration. The two spirally curved wires probably symbolise the figure's wings. Despite its formal similarity to the pendants of the Veraguas-Chiriquí group, the object has several special technical and design features. These include the production in hearth moulding, the position of the inlets, the small size of the figure, the two-part tail and the reduction of the depicted creature to a few attributes. The elements listed seem to indicate limited material resources and limited technical skills on the part of the makers. (Künne 2005)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Object type
Gold figure
Dimensions
Objektmaß: 3,1 x 3 x 0,9 cm
Gewicht: 2,8 g
Material/Technique
Gold
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 34240

Provenance and sources

when
700 - 1520
where
Costa Rica
Guanacaste [Provinz]
Bagaces [Kanton]
La Virgen [Ort]

who
Lehmann, Walter - Collectors

Description
Purchase 1909

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