Photographer: Andrea Blumtritt | Rights management: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International
The creature combines the attributes of different species (lizard, bird, fish) and perspectives. Its head clearly indicates a lizard-like shape. The dorsal fins cite fish-like characteristics. The wings and tail feathers, on the other hand, suggest avimorph characteristics. The head and torso of the flying figure were sculpted and depicted from above. The flat wings and tail feathers, on the other hand, appear in frontal perspective. Despite their size, they have no applied decorations. The broad mouth section of the object corresponds to the zoomorphic stone sculptures of the Palmar group (1550-1000d.C.). Although the metalwork belongs to the Veraguas-Chiriquí group, it has special design features. These include the chosen perspective (top view), the shape of the eyes and feet and the lack of separation between head and torso. (Künne 2005)
