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Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Pre-Columbian Art / Diquis Gold Pendant of Two Saurian Masked Shamans, 500 CE - 1550 CE

Pre-Columbian Art / Diquis Gold Pendant of Two Saurian Masked Shamans, 500 CE - 1550 CE

Gold
14 x 8.3 cm
5 1/2 x 3 1/4 in
FJ.6206
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The Diquis region is famous for phenomenal gold work and the amazing designs of their jewelry, which are often virtual paragons of abstract art. What we are seeing in this...
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The Diquis region is famous for phenomenal gold work and the amazing designs of their jewelry, which are often virtual paragons of abstract art. What we are seeing in this extraordinary pendant is a mixture of pure aesthetics blended with very complex symbolism. It was made to be worn by an important individual such as a chief or shaman to indicate rank and attract attention through elaborate designs and the glittering gold itself. This pendant is so richly detailed it seems to transcend normal bounds of a tangible object. There is true purpose in the meaning of the double figures, though we cannot know exactly what the purpose is. Each figure is seated on a bell containing rattles, looking in opposite direction. Their bodies are essentially the same, with breasts suggesting females. They appear to be wearing crocodile masks, perhaps portraying a diety of the otherworld. The lovely crowns, connected at the middle, indicate persons of high rank. Both figures hold a trapezoidal blade, joined to the front of their masks, most likely part of ritual accounterments. There are snakes everywhere, purely abstract, interweaving elegantly among the figures. When worn during ceremonies everyone would have immediately understood the meaning of this wonderful pendant, and would have been awed as we are awed by its spendor and magnificence.
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London

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