Diquís. Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure, 700–1550 CE. Cast gold, 3 1/4 x 3 7/16in. (8.3 x 8.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 35.147. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.35.147_overall.jpg)
Diquís. Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure, 700–1550 CE. Cast gold, 3 1/4 x 3 7/16in. (8.3 x 8.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 35.147. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.35.147_overall.jpg)
Diquís. Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure, 700–1550 CE. Cast gold, 3 1/4 x 3 7/16in. (8.3 x 8.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 35.147. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.35.147_back.jpg)
Diquís. Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure, 700–1550 CE. Cast gold, 3 1/4 x 3 7/16in. (8.3 x 8.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 35.147. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 35.147_bw.jpg)
Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.
Why can't we precisely date those gold pendants? 700-1550 is a huge time range!
We don't know the precise dates because gold tends be difficult to date. Gold can be melted down and recreated into something else so it's especially hard to know. Also, the imagery in this culture didn't change too often.
Even with carbon-14 technology?
Carbon-14 can only be used to date organic materials. It doesn't work for objects made of metal or stone.
Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure
Arts of the Americas
While we do not know the significance of the figures on these gold pendants, the mixture of human and animal attributes suggests a mythical and supernatural universe. The ornaments were worn on necklaces, perhaps by political and religious leaders who recognized and valued their symbolism. The representations of anthropomorphic animals may allude to the transformative powers of shamans or their spirit helpers as they journey to supernatural realms.
Aunque no conocemos el significado de las figuras en estos pendientes de oro, la mezcla de atributos humanos y animales sugiere un universo mítico y sobrenatural. Los ornamentos eran llevados en collares, quizás por líderes políticos y religiosos que reconocían y valoraban su simbolismo. Las representaciones de animales antropomórficos pueden aludir a los poderes transformadores de los chamanes o de sus ayudantes espirituales en sus viajes a los reinos sobrenaturales.
CAPTION
Diquís. Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure, 700–1550 CE. Cast gold, 3 1/4 x 3 7/16in. (8.3 x 8.7cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 35.147. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.35.147_overall.jpg)
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.
Why can't we precisely date those gold pendants? 700-1550 is a huge time range!
We don't know the precise dates because gold tends be difficult to date. Gold can be melted down and recreated into something else so it's especially hard to know. Also, the imagery in this culture didn't change too often.
Even with carbon-14 technology?
Carbon-14 can only be used to date organic materials. It doesn't work for objects made of metal or stone.