Page 623 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

507–509
THREE BIRD PENDANTS

Tairona
507: BIRD OF PREY
cast gilded gold-copper alloy
5
7
12.3 x 9.3 (4 /s x 3 /sj
508: BIRD'S HEAD
cast gold-copper alloy
3
3.5 x 8.4 (i /s x ^A)
509: BIRD'S HEAD
shell
5
8.5 x n.8 (^/4X4 /8)
Museo del Oro, Banco de La Republica, Bogota

This iconography may be related to an idea
preserved in Ijka mythology that birds in human
form brought the seeds of the plants that society
needs for survival. The hummingbird brought
coca, the eagle brought yucca (manioc), the ani
brought the trees and the flowers, and the macaw
brought the first maize (see Tayler 1974).
A.M.F.
510

SNAIL PENDANT
Tairona
cast gold
7
20.4 x 4.9 (8 x i /s)
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica, Bogota

The snail is a symbol of male genitals and fertili-
zation, as are the serpents that decorate this piece.
A.M.F.

622 CIRCA 1492