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Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A favored Initial-style subject is a charming animal whose curly tail -- its most impressive feature -- may derive from a monkey’s. Its other traits vary considerably, causing it to be identified as everything from a dog to a duck. Initial-style gold ornaments represent Panama’s oldest metalwork. Since metal technologies appeared suddenly and fully developed in Panama, it is likely that they were introduced from the outside, probably from Colombia to the south.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCurly-Tailed Animal Pendant, 100–800 CE. Panama, Initial style. Gold; overall: 1.8 x 4 x 2.7 cm (11/16 x 1 9/16 x 1 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1943.288
