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Bird of prey head

The ear ornament is very similar to cat. no. 180 (Aztec Catalogue, 2003); in addition, between the bird's head and the pendant consisting of four links and four bells there is a rectangular plaque with a bird's face, which is possibly identical to the bird's head representing an eagle or the wood grouse Coxcoxtli. The piece comes from the far south of the Aztec empire, from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Not far from here, in Soconusco in western Chiapas, the Aztecs collected tribute in the form of gold; the metal was processed by Mixtec specialists into elaborate finished products such as jewellery. (V. König, 2003)

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum Show original at data provider

Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Mixteken
Object type
Gold pendant
Dimensions
Weight: 16,46 g
Height: 10 cm
Depth: 3,4 cm
Width: 2,6 cm
Material/Technique
Gold
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
IV Ca 4621

Provenance and sources

  • Production
    when
    15th century - 16th century.
    where
    Mexico
    who
    Azteken
    Mixteken
  • Change of legal title:
    Acquisition
    Description
    Donation
  • Assignment to a curated holding:
    American Archaeology

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED
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