Artwork Page for Crocodile Pendant

Details / Information for Crocodile Pendant

Crocodile Pendant

1000–1550

Panama, Azuero Peninsula, Parita style, 11th-16th century

Medium
cast gold, modern greenstone
Measurements
Overall: 6.5 x 5.5 x 4.4 cm (2 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.160
Public Domain
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Location
233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Print
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Did You Know?

The greenstone replaced a piece of carved whale bone that was once improperly paired with the pendant.

Description

Of great importance in ancient Panama were beings that combined crocodile features, especially the mouth, with lizard traits, such as the iguana’s head crest. This example also has a back-swept nose, perhaps that of the leaf-nosed bat. The greenstone is a modern replacement for a stone or shell that once completed the crocodile’s body.

Crocodile Pendant

1000–1550

Panama, Azuero Peninsula, Parita style, 11th-16th century

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