Cleveland Museum of Art

Feline Pendant

Date

1000–1550

Medium

gold, cast

Culture

Isthmian Region, Panama-Costa Rica, Veraguas-Chiriquí style, 11th century-16th century

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This memorable jaguar pendant is a nasty precious—nasty because it holds a severed limb (probably human) in its fanged mouth but precious due to its material, its well-polished silky surface, and the charming rendering, which reduces the jaguar to cartoon-like essentials. The warm, rosy color is the result of copper in the alloy. In the Panama-Costa Rica region gold ornaments were associated with political and religious authority.

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