Apr 3
~ aBridge-spout vessel in the form of a quail.
Date: A.D. 100–500
Culture: Nazca
Period: Early Intermediate Period
Place of origin: Perú
Medium: Ceramic with polychrome slip.
seen from Bulgaria
seen from Iraq
seen from Venezuela
seen from Kenya
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from China
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Yemen
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Brazil
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Georgia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Russia
seen from Moldova
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Moldova
~ aBridge-spout vessel in the form of a quail.
Date: A.D. 100–500
Culture: Nazca
Period: Early Intermediate Period
Place of origin: Perú
Medium: Ceramic with polychrome slip.
Mayan plate with monkey tail in spiral
Date: c. 300-850 AD
Collection: Museo Nacional de Antropología, México
copper fox head | c. 300 - 400 CE | moche (modern day peru)
in the linden-museum stuttgart collection
Bowl Depicting Foxes* Attacking Human
Nazca, 180 BCE–500 CE
Mayan head, 7th to 9th century Mexico
On a scale of Pre-Columbian masks, how are you feeling today?
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Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant from Panama, c.350-450 CE: this gold pendant depicts an animal with stubby feet, a rounded head, and a long, thick tail curled up over its back
This design is often referred to as the "curly-tailed animal," and other pendants of the same style have been found in Panama, Colombia, and Costa Rica.
Above: two "curly-tailed animal" pendants from Panama, c.450-950 CE (top) and c.50-450 CE (bottom)
As this publication explains:
Among the intriguing and much-favored Panamanian cast pendants is the curly- tailed animal, a form that is found in both Colombia and lower Central America. Believed to date to as early as the second century A.D., when gold working was introduced into Panama from Colombia, the Panamanian versions are said to belong to the "Initial" style. The curly- tailed animals, so called for the impressively large tails that extend up over their backs, vary considerably in detail and have been identified as everything from dogs to ducks, but the tail, at least, is thought to be simian in derivation. It is clearly the significant element of the composition, and, when the pendant was worn, the tail would have been the most visible part of the ornament.
Produced for centuries in lower Central America, the "curly tails" were rendered in both gold and semiprecious stone; they were one of the few ancient images to be made in both materials.
Above: a "curly-tailed animal" pendant made of agate, c.100-800 CE
This page also expands on the blended characteristics that define the "curly-tailed animal" style:
Artists in the lands that are now part of the modern nations of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica created pendants and figures of a hybrid creature known to scholars as the curly-tailed animal.
The diversity of zoological attributes present on this and similar pendants precludes a definitive identification of any specific animal, but the capuchin monkey (Cebus capucinis), coatimundi (Nasua narica), or even domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) may have provided inspiration.
Why Indigenous Artifacts Should be Returned to Indigenous Communities
Sources & More Info:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Curly-Tailed Animal Pendant
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Curly-Tailed Pendants 2, 3, 4, and 5
Cleveland Art Museum: Agate Animal Pendant
Museum Publication: Gold of the Americas (PDF)
Bowl with humingbirds, Nazca, 50 BC - 100 AD
from The Dallas Museum of Art