Animal-Headed Figure Pendant
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Animal-Headed Figure Pendant” now? The Cleveland Museum of Art, 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region, Cleveland. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Among the pendants shown here are a crustacean (1943.290), an animal-headed figure (1948.18), and two pendants featuring birds (1951.442 and 1946.223). The latter were dubbed aguilas (eagles) by Christopher Columbus, who saw natives wearing them as necklace ornaments. Modern researchers are not as sure of the species shown, but some believe that they are birds of prey because talons and beaks are prominent and often clutch something, in one example here a small, disembodied head that holds a clapper. In both examples, two tufts in the form of crocodiles in profile flank the birds’ heads.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Details
- Accession number
- 1948.18
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
