1976.W.280 Pendant depicting a bird of prey (Chiriquí, Panama, Veraguas)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Among the societies of Central America, gold ornaments were important symbols of power and prestige that expressed authority and status in life and in death. Made to be suspended around the neck, gold pendants were still worn by local inhabitants of the Caribbean coast when Europeans encountered them at the turn of the 16th-century.

The image on this gold pendant is flattened and bilaterally symmetrical for maximum decorative effect. Although not visible from the front, a suspension loop is located on the reverse at the base of the bird head—craftsmen thus cleverly adapted the natural forms of totemic creatures to the functional demands of this jewelry. The pendant depicts a bird with large, outstretched wings, long beak, bulging body, and a necklace or collar, while the crescent-shaped base forms the long outspread tail of the figure. Though it is unclear what type of bird is represented, it is likely a bird of prey, indicated by the sharply hooked beak and taloned feet.

Bird pendants are a common theme among the cultures of Intermediate Central America. They range in a variety of sizes and styles, and represent a number of different bird species. Both single and double bird pendants are common, though their exact meaning is unknown. Pendants were likely worn on ceremonial occasions, and similar pendants were still being worn at the beginning of the 16th-century conquest. Bird imagery remained important to indigenous peoples of the region into the 20th century. The principal deity of the present-day Bribri of Costa Rica, Sibo or Sibu (Creator of all things), takes the form of either a kite or buzzard with a collar around its neck, similar to the birds in this example. For many peoples of the ancient Americas, birds were likely mythic figures, often considered intercessors between sky and land. Bird pendants may have offered protection to the wearer, and when represented in gold, such as this example, they are even more powerful.

Drawn from

Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Pendant with two frogs (1976.W.292), Pendant bell depicting a turtle (1976.W.301), Pendant depicting a batlike mask (1976.W.237)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 35.
Anne R. Bromberg, Dallas Museum of Art: Selected Works (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1983), 45.
Carol Robbins, Label text [1976.W.298; 1976.W.297; 1976.W.292], A. H. Meadows Galleries.
"Double Eagle Pendant (1979.206.907)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1979.206.907/. (August 2009).
"Eagle Pendant (1977.187.22)." In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1977.187.22/. (August 2009).

NOTES

c. 900–1520 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 03/25/16, 03/30/16, and 03/31/16; no culture or period noted.
Current label copy notes Panama: Veraguas-Greater Chiriquí style.

Catalogue essays

The Nora and John Wise Collection of Ancient South American Art

Artist/designers

Cultures

Chiriquí

Chiriquí (period): AAT: 300017239

Pre-Columbian Panamanian styles: AAT: 300017241

Veraguas (period): AAT: 300017240

Geography

Intermediate Central America

Chiriquí (province): TGN: 1001201

Panama (nation): TGN: 7005565

Veraguas (province): TGN: 1001593

Process/materials

Central American Gold

gold: AAT: 300011021

goldwork: AAT: 300044045

annealing: AAT: 300053886

casting (process): AAT: 300053104

chasing (metalworking): AAT: 300054016

embossing (technique): AAT: 300053826

repoussé: AAT: 300054023

solder: AAT: 300010993

sheet metal: AAT: 300223016

metalwork: AAT: 300015336

hammering (metal finishing): AAT: 300054098

Historical periods

Individuals

Subject terms

worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274

jewelry: AAT: 300209286

pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002

shiny (shine): AAT: 300065244

figures (representations): AAT: 300189808

birds (animals): AAT: 300266506

birds (motifs): AAT: 300375751

wings (animal components): AAT: 300375053

beaks (animal components): AAT: 300400475

tails (animal components): AAT: 300251800

necklaces: AAT: 300046001

collars (neckwear): AAT: 300210058

ornaments: AAT: 300266794

geometric motifs: AAT: 300009764

dots (geometric motif): AAT: 300010145

circles (plane figures): AAT: 300055627

lines (geometric concept): AAT: 300056279

crescent (motif): AAT: 300165510

funerary objects: AAT: 300234126

ceremonial costume: AAT: 300210387

power: AAT: 300374809

prestige: AAT: 300343604

social status: AAT: 300065206

symmetry: AAT: 300056249

myth: AAT: 300201023

mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725

Costa Rica (nation): TGN: 7005364

kites (equipment): AAT: 300218777

Falconiformes (order / diurnal birds of prey): AAT: 300310286

raptors (birds): AAT: 300250055

deities: AAT: 300343850

supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947

protection: AAT: 300164923

hollow (form attribute): AAT: 300163023

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

Until 1976: Nora and John Wise, New York [1]

From 1976: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison [1], [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance is existing information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

WEB RESOURCES

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1976.W.280