Cleveland Museum of Art

Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)

Date

400–1000

Medium

gold, cast

Culture

Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating. A museum visitor corrected our identification of this bird!

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