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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 Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

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

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    when
    700 - 1520
    where
    Costa Rica
    Guanacaste
    Bagaces
    La Virgen
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Purchase 1909
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    American Archaeology

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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