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Crocodile Pendant
1000–1550
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Of great importance in ancient Panama were beings that combined crocodile features, especially the mouth, with lizard traits, such as the iguana’s head crest. This example also has a back-swept nose, perhaps that of the leaf-nosed bat. The greenstone is a modern replacement for a stone or shell that once completed the crocodile’s body.
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Details
- Title: Crocodile Pendant
- Date Created: 1000–1550
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 6.5 x 5.5 x 4.4 cm (2 9/16 x 2 3/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
- Provenance: (Stendahl Art Galleries, Los Angeles, CA, 1964, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener), James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Type: Metalwork
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1990.160
- Medium: cast gold, modern greenstone
- Fun Fact: The greenstone replaced a piece of carved whale bone that was once improperly paired with the pendant.
- Department: Art of the Americas
- Culture: Panama, Azuero Peninsula, Parita style, 11th-16th century
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
- Collection: AA - Intermediate Region
- Accession Number: 1990.160
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