Standing Figure

The three-dimensional figures of the Tolita-Tumaco area are among the most striking of Precolumbian gold objects. The present example is particularly distinguished by its fancy nose ornament, evidence that some form of headdress was once present, and by the position of the hands, which originally held objects now missing. The feet too have been lost. Made of many pieces of high-quality sheet gold, the figure may have been clothed for special occasions. The Tolita-Tumaco style area crosses the Colombia-Ecuador border along the humid Pacific coast.