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Staff Head
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
These finials probably fit over the ends of wooden staffs, emblems of rank. Unique to the Sinú area are finials with an image, often a bird, at a right angle to the base. This orientation suggests that the finials served as the finger grips of ceremonial spear throwers.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineStaff Head, 400–1000 CE. Colombia, Sinú style. Cast gold; overall: 7.5 x 3 x 7.5 cm (2 15/16 x 1 3/16 x 2 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, In memory of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Humphreys, gift of their daughter Helen, 1947.25
