Tairona Stone Bead Necklace w/ 12K Gold Labret

Pre-Columbian, Colombian, Tairona, ca. 10th to 16th century CE. A stunning necklace featuring a wonderful gold (55% gold, equivalent to 12K) labret or lip plug presenting an attractive design comprised of a hemispheric face with an open channel across the center highlighted by a rope patterned border, all surrounded by an openwork border of circular motifs. This pendant is strung at the center of 14 strands of stone beads of natural grey, taupe, and black hues that are punctuated with 6 white cow bone discs arranged in a graduated display - 3 on each end - and completed with a hooked clasp. Labret composition: 55% gold, 7% silver, 37% copper. Size: 20.5" L (52.1 cm); labret measures 1.125" L x 1" in diameter (2.9 cm x 2.5 cm); total weight: 90.7 grams

The Pre-Columbian Tairona, a group of chiefdoms in a mountainous part of Colombia, are renowned for their distinctive gold pieces. See, for example, the catalogue from the British Museum exhibit of "Beyond El Dorado: Power and Gold in Ancient Colombia" (2013). Although gold was not a form of currency in Pre-Columbian South America, it had great symbolic power, used by elites in life and in death to demonstrate their place in society.

See a similar Tairona gold labret at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston - https://www.google.com/search?q=tairona+gold+labret&client=firefox-b-1-ab&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjmpt_2hb7eAhVM04MKHQZtDugQsAR6BAgGEAE&biw=1657&bih=775#imgrc=k5yYHX9BHwRqxM:

See another similar example at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Accession # 2005.409.2) - https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/319630

Provenance: From the Estate of Wylda Hammond Nelson, Maryland, Davis California, USA acquired before 1990

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#147003
Condition Report: Labret shows minor surface wear commensurate with age. Slight denting to plug on verso. Missing backing for the plug. Otherwise excellent. Beads show slight wear, but are generally excellent. Stone beads and labret are ancient. Cow bone beads are modern. Strung in modern times with modern clasp.