Exhibiting Historical Art: Out of the Vault: Stories of People and Things Main Menu World Map Click pins to learn more about the object that originated there Timeline Pre-Columbian Gold Headband 800 A.D. - 1500 A.D. Gold Eagle Pendants Sepik River Headrest 20th century Statue of Saint Barbara 17th century France, polychromed wood, artist unknown Cabinet door from the Imperial Palace of Beijing with Imperial Dragon Chen Youzhang, 1755 Bronze Lamp Head of John the Baptist Lauren Linquest, '19 Ida Rubenstein, 1909 Sculpture by Jo Davidson Cassone Chest Water-Carrier Vase with Bamboo Pattern and Bamboo Lenore Vanderkooi, 1996 Lotus Flowers in a Wood Vase Revolutions Per Minute: The Art Record Opening page

Bird-form Significance

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The pendants were first named aguilas (eagles) by Christopher Columbus who first noted them as he sailed along the Caribbean coast of Central America at the beginning of the sixteenth century. It is likely, however, that aspects of many different birds went into the artistic formation of the pendants, although specialists today do not always agree on which birds those might be. Some also think that the bird is rather a "King Vulture," scaring off other predatory birds with its wings. The symbolic meaning of bird pendants is not exactly known, but one theory holds that the pendants represent birds of prey, and that they functioned as protective emblems.

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  1. Further Reading Sarah Robinson
  2. Gold Significance Sarah Robinson
  3. Gold Eagle Pendants Sarah Robinson
  4. Bird-form Significance Sarah Robinson
  5. Bird-form Significance Sarah Robinson
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  1. Bird-form Significance