Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Among the pendants shown here are a crustacean (1943.290), an animal-headed figure (1948.18), and two pendants featuring birds (1951.442 and 1946.223). The latter were dubbed aguilas (eagles) by Christopher Columbus, who saw natives wearing them as necklace ornaments. Modern researchers are not as sure of the species shown, but some believe that they are birds of prey because talons and beaks are prominent and often clutch something, in one example here a small, disembodied head that holds a clapper. In both examples, two tufts in the form of crocodiles in profile flank the birds’ heads.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
123041
label
Lobster Pendant
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
123041
contentType
object
title
Lobster Pendant
description
Among the pendants shown here are a crustacean (1943.290), an animal-headed figure (1948.18), and two pendants featuring birds (1951.442 and 1946.223). The latter were dubbed aguilas (eagles) by Christopher Columbus, who saw natives wearing them as necklace ornaments. Modern researchers are not as sure of the species shown, but some believe that they are birds of prey because talons and beaks are prominent and often clutch something, in one example here a small, disembodied head that holds a clapper. In both examples, two tufts in the form of crocodiles in profile flank the birds’ heads.
date
c. 1000–1500
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60751519
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 8.3 x 5.8 cm (3 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
cul
Costa Rica, Diquís region, 11th-16th century
accession
1943.29
Source extras
tec
cast gold
tombstone
Lobster Pendant, c. 1000–1500. Costa Rica, Diquís region, 11th-16th century. Cast gold; overall: 8.3 x 5.8 cm (3 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, James Albert Ford Memorial Fund, 1943.290
collection
AA - Intermediate Region
citations
citation
Foote, Helen. "Pre-Columbian Pendants from Panama." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art </em>30, no. 10 (December 1943): 149-152.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 146; Mentioned: p. 151
creditline
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:19:58.819000
sourceId
123041
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Intermediate Region
med
cast gold
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
db7f52e5342a1ba8