Gold figurine of a quadruped from Colombia
€5,400
available
Object number
AR3403C
| Object: |
Pre-Hispanic gold figurine of a quadruped from Colombia
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| Material: |
Gold.
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| Period: |
700 AD to 1500 AD. Late Quimbaya period. Era before Spanish influence. |
| Description: |
Hollow, plastically crafted figurine of a lying quadruped. The animal has its head and tail raised in alert. The face and nose are shown overly elongated. There are eyelets on the front legs and the right hind leg and a hook behind the head. The small figure could therefore have been used as an appliqué or pendant or a small hook sewn on. It was probably once part of a pair of figures with this function. The rest of another paw is next to the left front paw. Similar gold figurines were made in a wider area of Central America, and over a long period of around 1500 years, making precise attribution difficult. The figurine presented here probably comes from the Quimbaya culture, which was located in what is now Colombia and produced outstanding gold works until the Spaniards became dominant. The piece offered was produced using lost wax casting and a solid core, probably made of clay, that was removed after the casting process. |
| Dimensions: |
65mm length, 34mm width. Weighs approximately 28g.
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| Condition: |
Minor parts missing and cracks distributed across the body. Larger broken edge on the underside and next to the left front paw, where the decorative element was once attached as part of a larger ensemble, probably with a twin figure next to it. Overall great condition, the original look and feel is perfectly preserved.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us on the German art market in 2022. Previously in the German private collection U. C. Acquired on 8 October 1986 at Harmer Rooke Galleries, New York, USA, auction XXV, lot no. 65. A copy of the corresponding certificate of authenticity is available.
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| References: |
Cf. Museo del Oro Zenú, Cartagena, acc .no. O17190. Cf. Museo del Oro, Bogotá, acc .no. O06033. Cf. Museo del Oro Quimbaya, Armenia, acc .no. O00415. Similar Metropolitan Museum of Art, acc .no. 1974.271.16. Similar T. Packet, Pre-Columbian Gold, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts (2016), p. 9 top. |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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