Figural Pendant
Colombia's Tolima region is justly famous for arrestingly abstracted figures like this one, among the largest of its kind. Such figures, worn as necklace pendants by chiefs and other elites, seem to be based on the human form. But they also incorporate animal features, often an upturned, bifurcated tail sometimes compared to that of a serpent and large, angled head appendages that may refer to animal ears or even insect antennae.
Details
- Palette
-
Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- gold, cast and hammered
- Dimensions
- overall: height 0.294 m, width 0.162 m, depth 0.01 m
- Department
- Art of the Americas
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image provider
- cleveland-museum-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Art Genome Taxonomy
9 tags
Artistic Disciplines
-
Jewelry Metadata · 98%
The object is identified as a figural pendant, and the museum notes that figures of this type were worn as necklace pendants.
Subject Matter
-
Hybrids and Imaginary Creatures Both · 96%
The museum describes a human-based form incorporating animal features, while the image shows a face-like head, nonhuman appendages, and a large bifurcated tail.
-
Human Figure Both · 92%
The frontal head, eyes, mouth, neck, torso, and limb-like extensions visibly evoke a human figure; the catalog states that such figures seem to be based on the human form.
Visual Qualities
-
Geometric Visual · 95%
The silhouette is built from simplified planar bars, rectangular openings, stepped extensions, and a strongly reduced overall form.
-
Symmetrical Visual · 98%
The design is organized around a vertical central axis, with closely corresponding appendages and openings on both sides.
-
Angular Visual · 94%
The lateral and upper extensions turn through pronounced right angles and corners, producing a distinctly angular outline.
Time Periods
-
Ancient Art Metadata · 90%
The catalog dates the object to 1–800 CE, placing it within the catalog's ancient-art period category.
Geographic Regions
-
Art of Latin America and the Caribbean Metadata · 84%
The place of origin is identified as Colombia's Tolima region, within the geographic scope represented by the catalog's Art of Latin America and the Caribbean category.
Materials
-
Gold Metadata · 99%
The catalog identifies the medium as gold, cast and hammered.
Source & rights
Unknown artist. Figural Pendant. Cleveland Museum of Art.