Diquís Gold Figural Pendant, Palmar Sur Region, circa AD 800 - 1500

The Merrin Gallery, New York
American Private Collection, acquired from the above, probably in the 1980s
Sotheby’s, New York, November 20, 1995, lot 69, consigned by the above
Private Collection, acquired at the above auction

Sotheby's, New York, African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art, May 9, 2006, p. 103, no. 134

The highly animated mythological figure is a classic depiction of the composite human and animal gold figural pendants of the Isthmus region. The human figure stands on deeply bent legs with exaggerated pointed shoulders and exerting a powerful grip on the double-headed snake stretched across his lower body. The feline head faces downward with the openwork mouth baring teeth and the nostrils flared, stylized profile feline heads emanate from the ankles and sides of the head. The ornament is cast with horizontal top and bottom framing bands and is strung with tubular and conical Tairona rock crystal beads, alternating with gold beads of openwork spirals. The gold pendant is also backed with a modern, removable gold armature providing additional attachment as a pin.