In 1610, a Spanish priest Fray Agustin de
Zevallos, described the gold pieces he
encountered in Costa Rica as marvels of
workmanship, brilliantly fashioned into jewelry
and used for barter or buried with the dead. Most
of the gold came from streams in the Diquis
region, where the finest goldsmiths created
masterpieces of art. What is particularly
fascinating is that the subject matter for jewelry
was strictly controlled. The favorite animals were
frogs, alligators, turtles, jaguars, peccaries and
spiders. None of these creatures fall within the
major food groups except for the peccary. Why
this animal is singled out as an exception is
unknown; but it is certainly undeniable that they
make very charming and endearing subjects for
jewelry. The peccary is unique to Central and
South America, known to be both pugnacious
and nurturing. These delightful pendants are so
skillfully made they seem alive with life and
personality. They appear at rest, perhaps enjoying
a lazy afternoon by a stream; yet always alert to
danger, their keen eyes on the look out for the
swift jaguar or other predators. Peccaries move in
groups, which may have caught the artist's
imagination to create a necklace imitating a herd;
given beautiful expression through the lustrous
medium of gold.
- (PF.4084)
|
