Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Shark Pendant
(Ancient Americas )
Pendants were worn by men around the neck on ceremonial occasions. Columbus noted that the inhabitants of Panama who came to greet him wore gold pendants in the shape of eagles. This piece could have been created in Columbus's time or during the previous 600 years.
The animals represented are fierce ones with which a warrior would have wanted to associate. This pendant represents a shark with a loop for suspension at its mouth.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
[Found at a graveyard between Divalá (a village on the outskirts of settled Panama, thirty miles west of David in the province of Chiriqui) and Costa Rica, Spring 1909]; purchased [1] by Tiffany & Co. New York, 1910; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] from "Indians," see December 29, 1910 correspondance from Tiffany & Co. to Henry Walters
Exhibitions
| 2015 | Gold of the Ancient Americas. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Panama (Veraguas-Gran Chiriquí) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
L: 3 1/8 in. (8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.287