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Shaman effigy pendant
Tairona
Tairona period
A.D. 900–1600
Object Place: Magdalena Department, Colombia, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region
Medium/Technique
Gold alloy
Dimensions
16 x 12.5 x 2 cm (6 5/16 x 4 15/16 x 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Landon T. Clay
Accession Number2000.813
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Pendants
DescriptionLarge pendant in the form of a standing human male with leaf-nosed bat face mask. His elaborate headdress includes two birds facing front and profile zoomorphic flanges at each side of his head. His hands clutch serpent heads at his thighs. This type of elaborate pendant is popularly referred to as a "cacique pendant", and many represent a high ranking male person in transformation to his spiritual animal companion.
ProvenanceJanuary 5, 1976, sold by Alphonse Jax (dealer), New York, to Landon T. Clay, Boston; 2000, year-end gift of Landon T. Clay to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 24, 2001)