Gold Helmet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2018

Helmet

Date: A.D. 700–1000

Geography: Panama, Darién

Culture: Coclé (?)

Medium: Gold

Dimensions: H. 4 1/2 × W. 7 11/16 × D. 7 11/16 in. (11.5 × 19.5 × 19.5 cm)

Classification: Metalwork-Ornaments

Credit Line: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Anonymous Gift and Gift of Thomas Barbour, 1933 (33-1-20/209)


This helmet—of thin hammered sheet gold embossed with zoomorphic designs—was less about stopping a weapon’s blow than projecting the wealth and power of the individual who wore it. In each wedge sits a two-headed crocodile, bent legs and scutes depicted in repoussé.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/722184