Frog Pendant 550–850 Greater Coclé This pendant, in the form of a frog, is suggestive of a range of frog species in the area where it was likely fabricated (see image 1). It is made of cast metal, likely an alloy of gold with copper. Its carbonized ceramic core is partially preserved. The frog looks forward. Its spherical eyes are at the top corners of its head, and they have linear indentations in their centers. The frog’s tongue projects outward, illustrated as two spirals that are connected to the center of the mouth and at its ends by a thick, curved band of metal (see image 2). There

Frog Pendant 550–850 Greater Coclé This pendant, in the form of a frog, is suggestive of a range of frog species in the area where it was likely fabricated (see image 1). It is made of cast metal, likely an alloy of gold with copper. Its carbonized ceramic core is partially preserved. The frog looks forward. Its spherical eyes are at the top corners of its head, and they have linear indentations in their centers. The frog’s tongue projects outward, illustrated as two spirals that are connected to the center of the mouth and at its ends by a thick, curved band of metal (see image 2). There is a plain band of metal that outlines the mouth. Another band has a chevron design, and it extends from the mouth down the center of the head and then connects with another chevron band forming a circle on the back of the frog (see image 3). The internal diameter of this circular band is cm. The chevron band along the central axis resumes at the rear of the frog, where it emerges out of the circular band on top. The front legs project forward and, instead of naturalistic feet at their ends, they have circular suspension loops. The hind legs are bent and angled toward the ground with the hind feet projecting outward. All of these details would have been designed originally in wax. The chevron band has the appearance of filigree but the artists created this design by plaiting two threads of wax. They formed the entire wax model around a core that was likely a combination of clay and charcoal. During the casting process, the frog’s interior would have been mostly filled with this core material. Artists covered the wax model with ceramic investment, and melted out the wax to create a mold. This mold was then possibly pre-heated, and molten metal was poured into the space formerly occupied by the wax. Once the metal solidified, the artists broke open the hardened ceramic investment to release the cast object. Portions of the original core are still preserved in this exa

How we Work

Contribute

Legal

Contact Us