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 sixteenth 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 head—craftsmen thus cleverly adapted the natural forms of totemic creatures to the functional demands of this jewelry.
Frogs, alligators, and other aquatic creatures were likely mythic figures, as in South America. For many peoples of the ancient Americas, turtles, like other amphibians, were also symbols of fertility and life, associated both with the underworld from which they emerge and water in which they live. A bi-cephalic serpent encircles this turtle, terminating at the mouth, and the tiny blobs of gold may be water symbols. Turtles were likely intercessors between water and land, and when represented in gold, such as this example, they are even more powerful.
Adapted 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.
NOTES
- Veraguas, 800–1200 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 03/25/16, 03/30/16, 03/31/16, and 05/11/17; no period noted.
- Current label copy notes Panama: Veraguas-Greater Chiriquí style.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, "Inventory Description, Medium," in DMA Object File, Pendant Bell: Turtle Eating Serpents (1976.W.300) (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, n.d.), 2).
Cultures
Chiriquí (period): AAT: 300017239
Pre-Columbian Panamanian styles: AAT: 300017241
Veraguas (period): AAT: 300017240
Geography
Chiriquí (province): TGN: 1001201
Panama (nation): TGN: 7005565
Veraguas (province): TGN: 1001593
Process/materials
gold: AAT: 300011021
goldwork: AAT: 300044045
alloy: AAT: 300010902
gold alloy: AAT: 300010963
copper (metal): AAT: 300011020
copper alloy: AAT: 300010942
annealing: AAT: 300053886
chasing (metalworking): AAT: 300054016
embossing (technique): AAT: 300053826
repoussé: AAT: 300054023
solder: AAT: 300010993
tumbaga: AAT: 300248834
sheet metal: AAT: 300223016
metalwork: AAT: 300015336
hammering (metal finishing): AAT: 300054098
casting: AAT: 300053104
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002
bells (idiophones): AAT: 300041872
clapper bells: AAT: 300041874
shiny (shine): AAT: 300065244
turtles: AAT: 300310264
serpents (snakes/Serpentes suborder): AAT: 300250870
bicephalic (two-headed / double-headed): DMA
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ceremonial costume: AAT: 300210387
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ceremonial costume: AAT: 300210387
power: AAT: 300374809
prestige: AAT: 300343604
social status: AAT: 300065206
deaths: AAT: 300151836
life (biological concepts): AAT: 300055134
symmetry: AAT: 300056249
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
fertility: AAT: 300379149
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
water: AAT: 300011772
sound (acoustics): AAT: 300056060
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
This pendant is made of cast tumbaga, and originally had an integrally cast, hollow clapper bell.
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1976.W.300
Category
rules_operator
AND
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 sixteenth 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 head—craftsmen thus cleverly adapted the natural forms of totemic creatures to the functional demands of this jewelry.
Frogs, alligators, and other aquatic creatures were likely mythic figures, as in South America. For many peoples of the ancient Americas, turtles, like other amphibians, were also symbols of fertility and life, associated both with the underworld from which they emerge and water in which they live. A bi-cephalic serpent encircles this turtle, terminating at the mouth, and the tiny blobs of gold may be water symbols. Turtles were likely intercessors between water and land, and when represented in gold, such as this example, they are even more powerful.
Adapted 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.
Fun Facts
This pendant is made of cast tumbaga, and originally had an integrally cast, hollow clapper bell.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Veraguas, 800–1200 C.E. (noted on TMS), updated by KJones on 03/25/16, 03/30/16, 03/31/16, and 05/11/17; no period noted.
- Current label copy notes Panama: Veraguas-Greater Chiriquí style.
- Fun Facts Source: Carol Robbins, "Inventory Description, Medium," in DMA Object File, Pendant Bell: Turtle Eating Serpents (1976.W.300) (Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, n.d.), 2).
Cultures
Chiriquí (period): AAT: 300017239
Pre-Columbian Panamanian styles: AAT: 300017241
Veraguas (period): AAT: 300017240
Geography
Chiriquí (province): TGN: 1001201
Panama (nation): TGN: 7005565
Veraguas (province): TGN: 1001593
Process/materials
gold: AAT: 300011021
goldwork: AAT: 300044045
alloy: AAT: 300010902
gold alloy: AAT: 300010963
copper (metal): AAT: 300011020
copper alloy: AAT: 300010942
annealing: AAT: 300053886
chasing (metalworking): AAT: 300054016
embossing (technique): AAT: 300053826
repoussé: AAT: 300054023
solder: AAT: 300010993
tumbaga: AAT: 300248834
sheet metal: AAT: 300223016
metalwork: AAT: 300015336
hammering (metal finishing): AAT: 300054098
casting: AAT: 300053104
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002
bells (idiophones): AAT: 300041872
clapper bells: AAT: 300041874
shiny (shine): AAT: 300065244
turtles: AAT: 300310264
serpents (snakes/Serpentes suborder): AAT: 300250870
bicephalic (two-headed / double-headed): DMA
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ceremonial costume: AAT: 300210387
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
funerary objects: AAT: 300234126
ceremonial costume: AAT: 300210387
power: AAT: 300374809
prestige: AAT: 300343604
social status: AAT: 300065206
deaths: AAT: 300151836
life (biological concepts): AAT: 300055134
symmetry: AAT: 300056249
myth: AAT: 300201023
mythical or legendary beings: AAT: 300375725
fertility: AAT: 300379149
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
water: AAT: 300011772
sound (acoustics): AAT: 300056060
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
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1976.W.300
source file
object_notes_3_a-0319.xml.nores