breast pendant with face
breast pendant with face
Culture
Coclé culture
Creation date
700-1100
Materials
gold
Dimensions
4 3/4 (diam.) in.
Credit line
Gift of Bonnie and David Ross
Accession number
1996.89
Currently On View In
Native Art of the Americas Gallery
For ancient American peoples gold and jade were high status materials reserved for rulers, priests and other elites.
In addition to gold and jade, tropical feathers, obsidian, and copal, a tree resin used for incense, were also highly prized materials.
Among some cultures, gold was associated with the power and brilliance of the sun. Jade was associated with fertility and water.
Because bronze and iron tools were not known to ancient American peoples, jade, a very hard stone, had to be sculpted using stone tools.
