Pectoral bird ·  Colombia, Sinú · ID: 3038464

Description

gold, weight: 64 gram, cast and hammered, with outstretched wings and fan-like tail, the claws projecting forward, each wing edge with six coils, elongated neck, head with pointed ears and single horn in the middle, eyelet for attachment behind, custom mount;
around 1500 B. C., gold became the preferred material for fashioning personal adornments. The composite creature format was developed by artistst throughout the ancient Americas to portray the non-portrayable - the shaman transformed into his/her spirit form. As such, all golden adornments would have been potent totemic icons for a family or social group, intimating the member’ s special powers.