Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century / 400–1000
Finial with Long-Beaked Bird
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Finial with Long-Beaked Bird as metalwork (Isthmian Region (Colombia), Sinú (Zenú), 5th century-11th century · 400–1000).
Birds, particularly water birds, may have been thought to travel between the different layers of the universe.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this metalwork as gold, cast.
The museum's collection notes: Unique to Colombia's Sinú region are gold finials with sculptural images at right angles to thimble-like caps; the caps fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank that may have been held horizontally. This impressive finial features a dignified, long-beaked bird whose body contains a pellet that rattles when the finial moves. Sinú animal imagery is understudied but may relate to beliefs about the cosmos. For instance, contemporary natives attribute importance to birds because they have the capacity to move among different environments (air, land, water); they may have been regarded as mediators among levels of the cosmos.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtFinial with Long-Beaked BirdOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.