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Source Description
This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
172523
label
Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
172523
contentType
object
title
Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
description
This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating.
date
400–1000
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60759444
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 11.4 x 7.2 x 6 cm (4 1/2 x 2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
cul
Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century
accession
2015.3
Source extras
tec
gold, cast
tombstone
Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?), 400–1000. Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century. Gold, cast; overall: 11.4 x 7.2 x 6 cm (4 1/2 x 2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2015.3
collection
AA - Intermediate Region
didYouKnow
A museum visitor corrected our identification of this bird!
citations
citation
Seligman, Thomas K., and Kathleen Berrin. <em>The Bay Area Collects: Art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas</em>. [San Francisco]: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1982.
page_number
fig. 111
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Museum Masters: 2016-17 Companion Guide.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2016.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: P. 82-83
citation
Bergh, Susan. "Acquisitions 2015: Pre-Columbian and Native North American Art.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 56, no. 2 (March/April 2016): 32-33.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 3, 32; Mentioned: p. 32
citation
Falchetti de Sáenz, Ana María. <em>Lo humano y lo divino: metalurgia y cosmogonía en la América antigua</em>. 2018.
page_number
p. 81
creditline
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:50:16.087000
sourceId
172523
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Intermediate Region
med
gold, cast
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ac6b291f3431921a