Plaque with Crocodile Deity
Arts of the Americas
About this Brooklyn Icon
The Brooklyn Museum is commemorating its 200th anniversary by spotlighting 200 standout objects in its encyclopedic collection.
Some scholars assert that the gold plaques produced by the ancient Coclé people of present-day Panama are the most beautiful hammered and embossed gold objects from the ancient Americas. Artists created these embossed designs by hammering a gold sheet against a mold; this plaque, dominated by an anthropomorphic reptilian figure known as the Crocodile God, exemplifies the tradition. The deity is surrounded by two smaller reptilian creatures, and the triangular forms around the plaque’s border emulate the animal’s protective, ridgelike scales.
A principal deity in the broader Central American region for more than a thousand years, the Crocodile God was likely associated with strength, the sun, water, and fertility. In the Coclé culture, embossed gold plaques were power objects and status symbols. Sixteenth-century Spanish explorers described how Indigenous male leaders wore plaques on their chests when going into battle. These plaques were pierced so they could be attached to garments. By depicting mythical beings, the ornaments enhanced the wearer’s power and connected him to the supernatural realm. Crocodiles may have also been associated with the underworld due to their ability to float on water and drag their prey to drown beneath its surface.
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Gallery Label
Among the ancient Coclé people of present-day Panama, embossed gold plaques were symbols of power and status. Sixteenth-century Spanish explorers described how Indigenous leaders wore plaques on their chests when going into battle. Made by hammering a gold sheet against a mold, the plaques were pierced and attached to garments. By depicting mythical beings, they enhanced the wearer’s power and connected him to the supernatural world. This plaque features the Crocodile Deity, who is associated with strength, between two reptilian creatures. The face on the other plaque (
33.448.6) looks human, but the snarling, fanged mouth signals its supernatural nature.
MEDIUM
Gold (tumbaga)
DATES
ca. 700–900
DIMENSIONS
8 1/2 x 9 in. (21.6 x 22.9 cm)
mount (Support board prepared in 2012): 10 1/2 x 11 x 1 1/4 in. (26.7 x 27.9 x 3.2 cm)
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
33.448.12
CREDIT LINE
Museum Expedition 1931, Museum Collection Fund
PROVENANCE
Grave 5, layer 2, Sitio Conte, Panama; 1931, excavated by the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA; December 1, 1933, purchased from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology by the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
Plaque of hammered gold with an embossed anthropomorphic reptilian figure representing the Crocodile God. Similar figures also appear on painted pottery and cast goldwork. The six pierced holes indicate that it was probably attached to a garment.
Condition: good; there are small tears along the edges and in the interior, but all are stable. The six pierced holes have jagged edges and there are concentrated burnishing marks in the repoussé.
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
Coclé. Plaque with Crocodile Deity, ca. 700–900. Gold (tumbaga), 8 1/2 x 9 in. (21.6 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1931, Museum Collection Fund, 33.448.12. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 33.448.12_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 33.448.12_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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