Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth
Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth
Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth
Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth

On view

Art of the Ancient Americas

Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth,

550–1550 CE

Costa Rican
Period V to Period VI
1998-177

Central American Goldwork

Around A.D. 550, the technology of making small ornaments and sculptures from copper-gold alloys via lost-wax casting spread rapidly from Colombia north, becoming a primary medium for prestigious objects for the chiefdoms of Central America. The ancient peoples of Colombia and Central America were closely related and spoke similar languages, facilitating the introduction of this new technology. Soon after its arrival, gold replaced jade as the most coveted and prized of art-making materials and was used for small representations of animals and people, as well as jewelry. By about A.D. 1000, these metallurgical techniques spread into Mesoamerica, where artists produced glittering objects that convey local ideas in local styles.

Information

Title
Frog with stylized double serpent issuing from its mouth
Dates

550–1550 CE

Medium
Gold
Dimensions
2.3 × 8 × 7.5 cm (7/8 × 3 1/8 × 2 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Rose Fine Heller, in memory of her husband, Ernest S. Heller, Class of 1922
Object Number
1998-177
Place Made

North America, Panama, Diquis

Culture
Costa Rican
Period
Pre-Columbian Central American styles and periods
Type
ornament, sculpture
Materials
gold
Subject
frogs, snakes

1998, gift of Rose Fine Heller (1898-2003), New York, to the Princeton University Art Museum.

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