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Source Description
Bilobed pectorals are some of the most flamboyant objects created by artists in Colombia’s Calima region. Chiefs apparently wore such pectorals—among the largest torso adornments ever created in the ancient Americas—with other gold objects, including bracelets, dramatic headdress adornments, and ear and nose ornaments like those shown on the pectoral itself. Thus, they armored themselves in gold, which likely had complex symbolism; for instance, it may have been associated with the sun and thereby with nourishing cosmic energies and positive moral behavior.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
172512
label
Pectoral (Chest Ornament)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
172512
contentType
object
title
Pectoral (Chest Ornament)
description
Bilobed pectorals are some of the most flamboyant objects created by artists in Colombia’s Calima region. Chiefs apparently wore such pectorals—among the largest torso adornments ever created in the ancient Americas—with other gold objects, including bracelets, dramatic headdress adornments, and ear and nose ornaments like those shown on the pectoral itself. Thus, they armored themselves in gold, which likely had complex symbolism; for instance, it may have been associated with the sun and thereby with nourishing cosmic energies and positive moral behavior.
date
1–800 CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60758613
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 22.7 x 28.5 x 2.9 cm (8 15/16 x 11 1/4 x 1 1/8 in.)
cul
Isthmian Region (Colombia), Calima, Yotoco period
accession
2015.2
Source extras
tec
gold, hammered
tombstone
Pectoral (Chest Ornament), 1–800 CE. Isthmian Region (Colombia), Calima, Yotoco period. Gold, hammered; overall: 22.7 x 28.5 x 2.9 cm (8 15/16 x 11 1/4 x 1 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2015.2
collection
AA - Intermediate Region
didYouKnow
Calima bilobed pectorals are among the largest torso ornaments ever made in the ancient Americas.
citations
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 E. “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 and Mentioned: p. 32
citation
Griswold, William M. "Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art," <em>The Burlington Magazine </em>163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: P. 101, no. 17; mentioned: P. 93
creditline
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:50:10.578000
sourceId
172512
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Intermediate Region
med
gold, hammered
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a5abf340daeaad07