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Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
400–1000
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating.
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Details
- Title: Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
- Date Created: 400–1000
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 11.4 x 7.2 x 6 cm (4 1/2 x 2 13/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
- Provenance: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Metalwork
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.3
- Medium: gold, cast
- Fun Fact: A museum visitor corrected our identification of this bird!
- Department: Art of the Americas
- Culture: Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century
- Credit Line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Collection: AA - Intermediate Region
- Accession Number: 2015.3
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