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Crocodile-shaman effigy pendant

Diquís or Chiriquí
A.D. 700–1550
Object Place: Diquís or Chiriquí Province, Costa Rica or Panama

Medium/Technique Gold alloy
Dimensions 8.89 x 7.62 cm (3 1/2 x 3 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Catherine C. Lastavica in memory of Thomas and Rosamond Barbour, Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, III and Catherine Coolidge
Accession Number1985.905
CollectionsJewelry, Americas
ClassificationsJewelry / AdornmentPendants

DescriptionCast gold pendant rendering a standing human male with a crocodile head and a protruding tongue. The pendant's two flanges are embellished with four profile zoomorphic (crocodile?) heads. A single ring on the back allows for suspension.
ProvenanceDescended in the Coolidge Family, Massachusetts; to Catherine Coolidge Lastavica in 1958; lent to MFA January 11, 1983; to MFA, December 1985, gift of Catherine Coolidge Lastavica.