9th-15th century AD. A figure formed of tumbaga, using lost-wax casting technique; the richly ornamented figure is thought to represent a standing naked alligator-headed shaman or deity wearing a helmet surmounted by two toucans; the figure holds a ceremonial bar with scrolled terminals and wears elaborate facial ornamentation including narigueras at the nose and a labret at the chin, discoid earrings, arm bands and a broad necklace, loops for suspension of dangles at various points including the reverse; the enormous headdress behind comprises stylised birds' beaks and herringbone tendrils, spirals and beads; Tairona, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, Columbia, circa 900-1400 AD; mounted on a custom-made stand. See The Jan Mitchell Collection, The Art of Precolumbian Gold, 1985, for a close comparison. 68 grams total, 94mm (3 3/4"). From the collection of Jose Carlos Sempiterno Ribeiro, Lisbon, Portugal; acquired at an Antiques Fair in Madrid Spain in 2012; ex Spanish archaeologist; believed to have been acquired in Mexico, circa 1950s-1960s. This type of pendant is often referred to as a 'cacique' or 'chieftain' pendant and possibly represents a high-ranking individual in the act of transformation into a spiritual animal 'companion'. Tairona culture developed in Columbia before the Conquest. The rich graves of this culture have revealed much jewellery and a degree of uniformity of style is found in cacique pendants, such as the posture of hands-on-hips, or the presence of a ceremonial bar with double-spiral terminals. The tumbaga alloy of gold and copper used by artists has a substantially lower melting point than gold that facilitates the creation of artwork with a wealth of intricate detail. For the Tairona people, the value of gold was transformed beyond its intrinsic worth once turned into a symbolic object such as this one, which emphasizes the three-dimensional form. Caciques range in size from roughly one to six inches in height.