Photos : Mihaela Noroc

“In this land of Veragua [present day Panama] I saw more signs of gold in the first two days than I saw in Espanola during four years…”

-Christopher Columbus in 1493, in his letter to Ferdinand and Isabella (via).

Upon his arrival in Panama, Columbus was struck by the sheer quantities of gold he observed. He noted that the people who came to greet him wore golden pendants -possibly not too dissimilar to the ones displayed in this post. The exact age of these pieces shown here is a bit ambiguous- they may date from 800 right through to Columbus’s time. All are from Panama. 

The 2nd example depicts a shark, while the 3rd is of some form of bird. Given the latter, it is interesting that Columbus mentioned that some men wore ‘eagle’ pendants. The Walters discuss the 1st and 4th examples:

Frogs were associated with rain and fertility, and were therefore quite popular; they could also symbolize transformation. This frog pendant has bells for eyes, and holds a double-headed snake in its mouth. Its large hind feet are flat and rectangular. […]

This pendant represents a jaguar, with which a warrior would have wanted to associate. The head of the animal is turned aside as if to observe a potential viewer or enemy. On each foot is a ring for suspension.

Shown artefacts courtesy of & can be viewed at the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. Via their online collections: 57.299, 57.287, 2009.20.82 & 57.266.

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