Necklace with flower pendant

One of the most appealing pieces of Colombian pre-Hispanic goldwork is a necklace with beads in the shape of a schematic bird decorated with a delicate pendant shaped like a flower, manufactured by Malagana goldsmiths on the plains of the Cauca River in the Southwest part of Colombia. The fidelity of the representation of the flower, in addition to the skills and technical inventiveness, make this pendant a unique and exceptional piece. Thanks to its naturalism, it has been identified as belonging to the Passiflora family, and it could correspond to a type of passion fruit (Grenadia), a plant producing a rounded juicy fruit with a mild sweet flavour. The piece is composed of three parts cast separately in gold by lost wax casting and then assembled. A small bluish stone was added to the inside of the flower. The contrast of materials and colours contributes to enhance the mastery of the object. MAU