The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of January 27, 2023

Animal-Headed Figure Pendant

1–800

Colombia, Quimbaya or Yotoco style, 5th-10th Century

Cast gold

Overall: 5 x 4.2 x 1.3 cm (1 15/16 x 1 5/8 x 1/2 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1939.514

Location

not on view

Description

The same creature, nasty but precious, appears in both pendants (1939.515). Human in its posture and arms, its head is that of an animal with a long, toothy snout. It holds batons to its mouth, and whiskers or ears flare from the sides of the head. The little headdress domes are mystifying; they have been described as mushrooms, gourds, and ceramic vessels, among other things.

Exhibition history

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 19- April 11, 1943. "Art of the Americas."

Toledo, OH: Toledo Museum of Art; January 1944. "The Ancient Art of the North American Continent."

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9, 1945- January 6, 1946. "Art of the Americas."

Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23- April 3, 1966. "Treasures of Peruvian Gold."

Art of the Americas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946).

Shamanism. Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago, Chile (organizer) (December 1, 2022-June 30, 2023) https://museo.precolombino.cl/2022/12/12/chamanismo-visiones-fuera-del-t....

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1939.514