Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant
Unknown Artist
100–800 CE
Medium
gold
Dimensions
1.8 × 4 × 2.7 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1943.288
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
A favored Initial-style subject is a charming animal whose curly tail -- its most impressive feature -- may derive from a monkey’s. Its other traits vary considerably, causing it to be identified as everything from a dog to a duck. Initial-style gold ornaments represent Panama’s oldest metalwork. Since metal technologies appeared suddenly and fully developed in Panama, it is likely that they were introduced from the outside, probably from Colombia to the south.