Page 645 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

562 (beneficent female) emerged from a lake with her
infant son, whom she married when the child
TURTLE came of age. The couple had many children. With
Muisca these Bachue populated the land; then, exhorting
cast gold them all to live in peace, she and her son-husband
8x3.9(^/8x1^/2) reentered the lake in the form of snakes. In
Muisca religion serpents were associated with
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica, Bogota
sacred lakes, which were also places where offer-
ings were deposited.
This creature is rarely represented in pre-Hispanic These two serpent tunjos are cast by the lost-
art from this part of the Americas, even though it wax process. The button at the end of each tail is
was an essential part of man's diet in many regions, the residue of metal left in the mold after pour-
such as the Caribbean coastal plain. It may be that ing. The serpent with whiskers at the mouth has
the turtle's flesh was reserved for the chieftains, ears and a twisted braid design along the body.
as we know was the case with that of deer and The underside is flat. The other snake tunjo has
birds of prey, a circumstance which would make front legs with tiny toes. The head has round
the animal all the more appropriate as a subject eyes, small ears, and whiskers. The lower jaw is
for an offering. C.P. formed by a semicircular element attached below
the head, and the mouth is open. W.B.

563-564
Two SNAKES 565
SNAKE
Muisca
cast gold Muisca
3
1 2 ana
11.43 (4 / ) a-a (4 /s) cast gold
l
5
Jan Mitchell and Sons, New York 4 x 4.1 (i /2 x i /s)
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica, Bogota
Unlike most tunjos, which depict their subjects
with absolute accuracy, snake tunjos often have To the present-day Chibcha, the serpent rolled
elements such as ears, limbs, or whiskers that are up into a spiral is a symbol of life and movement.
never found on living serpents. The offerings In mythology, the snake was the first wife of the
may therefore represent mythical creatures. One sun, condemned to keep its serpentine shape for
Muisca myth tells how the goddess Bachue having committed adultery. C.P.

644 CIRCA 1492