The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 20, 2025
Lobster Pendant
c. 1000–1500
Overall: 8.3 x 5.8 cm (3 1/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
James Albert Ford Memorial Fund 1943.290
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
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.- Foote, Helen. "Pre-Columbian Pendants from Panama." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 30, no. 10 (December 1943): 149-152. Reproduced: p. 146; Mentioned: p. 151 www.jstor.org
- Treasures of Peruvian Gold. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (February 23-April 3, 1966).Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; February 23- April 3, 1966."Treasures of Peruvian Gold."Art of the Americas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946).Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9 1945- January 6 1946. "Art of the Americas." repr. in catalogue, black and white, p. 50.
- {{cite web|title=Lobster Pendant|url=false|author=|year=c. 1000–1500|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.290