Necklace. Quimbaya culture, Colombia, 300-900 A.D.

Necklace. Quimbaya culture, Colombia, 300-900 AD.
Gold and jade.
Provenance: French private collection.
In good state of preservation.
Measurements: 25,5 cm long.

Exceptional pre-Columbian necklace composed of green stone beads -probably jadeite or similar materials of greenish tonality- combined with tubular elements and gold spacers, culminating in an outstanding anthropomorphic cast pendant. The piece is a remarkable example of the metallurgical mastery and aesthetic refinement achieved by the Quimbaya culture, one of the most outstanding of the northern Andean area.

The pendant, symbolic axis of the composition, represents a schematic human figure, with a frontal body and hieratic attitude, with arms bent and resting on the hips, a gesture of affirmation and authority. On the head rises a complex structure that could be interpreted as a ceremonial headdress or attribute of rank, a recurring element in the iconography of prestige associated with elites or characters of social and ritual relevance.

The gold, worked by means of advanced casting techniques, presents a warm and homogeneous surface, with slight irregularities that evidence its antique character. The alternation with green stone beads introduces a strong chromatic and symbolic contrast, since both materials were closely linked to values of power, fertility and connection with the sacred in pre-Hispanic cultures.

This type of ornament not only fulfilled an aesthetic function, but also acted as a marker of status and as an object charged with ritual significance, possibly linked to ceremonies, social hierarchies or funerary practices.