Pre-Columbian Art / Gold Bell Pendant Featuring a Frog - FJ.6056, Origin: Costa Rican/Panamanian Border Area, Circa: 500 AD to 1550 AD, Dimensions: 1.125" (2.9cm) high, Collection: Pre-Columbian, Style: Pre-Columbian, Medium: Gold. A wonderfully realistic frog graces the top of this gold bell pendant. The long, thin legs with toes terminating in suckers are delicately holding onto the edge of the bell. The suckers enable arboreal frogs to climb trees. The ornamentation on the sides of the mouth may represent the frog's tongue. The large, gold eyes were applied and encircled with a thin line of gold. We cannot easily interpret its symbolic importance, but we do believe that frogs were associated with fertility rituals. Their mythic roles involved supernatural or extraordinary traits. This gold masterpiece which silently shimmers in all its glory and mystery before us is undoubtedly an exceptional work of art. It combines the powerful forces of artistic ingenuity with mythical imagery.

Antiquities
Ancient Jewelry