Eagle pendant 1
1 2016-04-07T13:31:51-07:00 Sarah Robinson dfb2f746938b5c0a5b771e15293b8c60ba96c31c 8532 1 plain 2016-04-07T13:31:51-07:00 Sarah Robinson dfb2f746938b5c0a5b771e15293b8c60ba96c31cThis page is referenced by:
-
1
2016-04-07T13:46:03-07:00
Gold Eagle Pendants
18
plain
2016-04-29T15:09:19-07:00
9.6257, -82.852620
Anonymous
Western Panama and adjoining areas of Costa Rica
Gold bird-form pendants were a favored form of personal ornament in ancient Central America, and are perhaps the best known type of Pre-Columbian gold object. They were made to be worn suspended around the neck, and while the pendants differ in specific details, the basic configuration is usually the same- extended wings over open, splayed tails and heads, and beaks that project strongly forward. These personal ornaments were fabricated in many sizes; some are barely an inch high and may have been made for children, while others, such as this example, would fully adorn a large male chest.
Sarah Robinson
Musical Arts and Economics Major '18 -
1
2016-04-07T13:14:01-07:00
Modern Life
4
Mid 1900s - Present
gallery
2016-04-19T15:16:22-07:00
The exact journey of this particular piece is unknown but eventually it was picked up by a man named Donald J. Erickson. Mr. Erickson, a partner and chairman of the accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. and resident of the Chicago area, acquired the piece prior to 1977. He owned the headband until his death in 1987. At this point it was transferred over to his wife, Irma A. Erickson and then their daughter Cynthia A. Sandell in 2001. Though we cannot know what prompted Mr. Erickson to obtain this piece, his personal interests would have been represented in the value he placed upon the object. For his wife and daughter it is likely that the gold took on the added significance of remembering him. With a donation from Mrs. Sandell, the headband came to rest in Vanderbilt’s collection in 2006, along with five other Pre-Columbian gold pieces from the family, two of which are also now on display in the Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery. In its new context in the Vanderbilt gallery, the piece continues to add value to its story. In its place displayed in the gallery the piece now takes on the importance of telling its story and teaching viewers about its past.
