Chapter 5

The manner in which the numerous parts or sections of complex figures are joined together is both interesting and perplexing. Evidences of the use of solder have been looked for in vain, and if such a medium was ever used it was identical in kind with the body of the object or so small in quantity as to escape detection. At the junction of the parts there are often decided indications of hammering, or at least of the strong pressure of an implement; but in pursuing the matter further we find a singular perfection in the joining, which amounts to a coalescence of the metals of the two parts concerned. There is no weakness or tendency to part along the contact surfaces, neither is there anything like the parting of parallel wires in coils or where a series of wires is joined side by side and carried through various convolutions. In a number of cases I made sections of coils and parts composed of a number of wires, in the hope of discovering evidences of the individuality of the strands, but the metal in the section is always homogeneous, breaking with a rough, granular fracture, and not more readily along apparent lines of junction than across them; and further, in studying in detail the surface of parts unpolished or protected from wear by handling, we find everywhere the granular and pitted unevenness characteristic of cast surfaces. This is true of the wire forms as well as of the massive parts, and, in addition to this, such defects occur in the wires as would hardly be possible if they were of wrought gold.

All points considered, I am inclined to believe that the objects were cast, and cast in their entirety. It is plain, however, that the original model was made up of separately constructed parts of wire or wirelike strands and of eccentric and often rather massive parts, and that all were set together by the assistance of pressure, the indications being that the material used was sufficiently plastic to be worked after the manner of clay, dough, or wax. In one case, for example, the body of a serpent, consisting of two wires neatly twisted together, is held in the hand of a grotesque figure. The hand consists of four fingers made by doubling together two short pieces of wire. The coil has been laid across the hand and pressed down into it until half buried, and the ends of the fingers are drawn up around it without any indication of hammer strokes. Indeed, the effect is just such as would have been produced if the artist had worked in wax. Again, in the modeling of the eyes we have a good illustration. The eye is a minute ball cleft across the entire diameter by a sharp implement, thus giving the effect of the parted lids. Now, if the material had been gold or copper, as in the specimens, the ball would have been separated into two parts or hemispheres, which would not exhibit any great distortion; but as we see them here the parts are flattened and much drawn out by the pressure of the cutting edge, just as if the material had been decidedly plastic.

It seems to me that the processes of manufacture must have been analogous to those employed by the more primitive metal workers of our own day. In Oriental countries delicate objects of bronze and other metals are made as follows: A model is constructed in some such material as wax or resin and over it are placed coatings of clay or other substance capable of standing great heat. These coatings, when sufficiently thickened and properly dried, form the mold, from which the original model is extracted by means of heat. The fused metal is afterwards poured in. As a matter of course, both the mold and the model are destroyed in each case, and exact duplications are not to be expected. Mr. George F. Kunz, of New York, with whom I have discussed this matter, states that he has seen live objects, such as insects, used as models in this way. Being coated with washes of clay or like substance until well protected and then heavily covered, they were placed in the furnace. The animal matter was thus reduced to ashes and extracted through small openings made for the purpose.

As bearing upon this subject it should be mentioned that occasionally small figures in a fine reddish resin are obtained from the graves of Chiriqui. They are identical in style of modeling with the objects of gold and copper obtained from the same source.

In discussing possible processes, Mr. William Hallock, of the division of chemistry and physics of the United States Geological Survey, suggested that if the various sections of a metal ornament were embedded in the surface of a mass of fire clay in their proper relations and contacts they could then be completely inclosed in the mass and subjected to heat until the metal melted and ran together. After cooling, the complete figure could be removed by breaking up the clay matrix. I imagine that in such work much difficulty would be experienced in securing proper contact and adjustment of parts of complex figures. It will likewise be observed that evidences of plasticity in the modeling material would not exist. I must not pass a suggestion of Nadaillac[17] which offers a possible solution of the problem of manipulation. Referring to a statement of the early Spanish explorers that smelting was unknown to the inhabitants of Peru, he states that it would be possible for a people in a low state of culture to discover that an amalgam of gold with mercury is quite plastic, and that after a figure is modeled in this composite metal the mercury may be dissipated by heat, leaving the form in gold, which then needs only to be polished. There is, however, no evidence whatever that these people had any knowledge of mercury.

There is no indication of carving or engraving in the Chiriquian work. In finishing, some of the extremities seem to have been shaped by hammering. This was a mere flattening out of the feet or parts of the accessories, which required no particular skill and could have been accomplished with comparatively rude stone hammers. It is a remarkable fact that many, if not most, of the objects appear to be either plated or washed with pure gold, the body or foundation being of base gold or of nearly pure copper. This fact, coupled with that of the association of objects of bronze with the relics, leads us to inquire carefully into the possibilities of European influence or agency. I observe that recent writers do not seem to have questioned the genuineness of the objects described by them, but that at the same time no mention is made of the plating or washing. This latter circumstance leads to the inference that pieces now in my possession exhibiting this phenomenon may have been tampered with by the whites. In this connection attention should be called to the fact that history is not silent on the matter of plating. The Indians of New Granada are said to have been not only marvelously skillful in the manipulation of metals, but, according to Bollaert, Acosta declares that these peoples had much _gilt_ copper, "and the copper was gilt by the use of the juice of a plant rubbed over it, then put into the fire, when it took the gold color."[18] Just what this means we cannot readily determine, but we safely conclude that, whatever the process hinted at in these words, a thin surface deposit of pure gold, or the close semblance of it, was actually obtained. It is not impossible that an acid may have been applied which tended to destroy the copper of the alloy, leaving a deposit of gold upon the surface, which could afterwards be burnished down.

It has been suggested to me that possibly the film of gold may in cases be the result of simple decay on the part of the copper of the alloy, the gold remaining as a shell upon the surface of the still undecayed portion of the composite metal; but the surface in such a case would not be burnished, whereas the show surfaces of the specimens recovered are in all cases neatly polished.

If we should conclude that the ancient Americans were probably able to secure in some such manner a thin film of gold, it still remains to inquire whether there may not have been some purely mechanical means of plating. In some of the Chiriquian specimens a foundation of very base metal appears to have been plated with heavy sheet gold, which as the copper decays comes off in flakes. Occasional pieces have a blistered look as a consequence. Were these people able with their rude appliances to beat gold into very thin leaves? and Had they discovered processes by which these could be applied to the surfaces of objects of metal? are questions that should probably be answered in the affirmative.

The flakes in some cases indicate a very great degree of thinness. Specimens of sheet gold ornaments found in the tombs are thicker, but are sufficiently thin to indicate that, if actually made by these people, almost any degree of thinness could be attained by them. It would probably not be difficult to apply thin sheet gold to the comparatively smooth surfaces of these ornaments and to fix it by burnishing.

Mr. Kunz suggests still another method by means of which plating could have been accomplished. If a figure in wax were coated with sheet gold and then incased in a clay matrix, the wax could be melted out, leaving the shell of gold within. The cavity could then be filled with alloy, the clay could be removed, and the gold, which would adhere to the metal, could then be properly burnished down.

It will be seen from this hasty review that, although we may conclude that casting and plating were certainly practiced by these peoples, we must remain in ignorance of the precise methods employed.

Referring to the question of the authenticity of the specimens themselves, I may note that observations bearing upon the actual discovery of particular specimens in the tombs are unfortunately lacking. Mr. McNiel acknowledges that with all his experience in the work of excavation no single piece has been taken from the ground with his own hands, and he cannot say that he ever witnessed the exhumation by others, although he has been present when they were brought up from the pits. Generally the workmen secrete them and afterwards offer them for sale. He has, however, no shadow of a doubt that all the pieces procured by him came from the graves as reported by his collectors. The question of the authenticity of the gilding will not be satisfactorily or finally settled until some responsible collector shall have taken the gilded objects with his own hands from their undisturbed places in tombs known to be of pre-Columbian construction.

There are many proofs, however, of the authenticity of the objects themselves. It is asserted by a number of early writers that the American natives were, on the arrival of the Spaniards, highly accomplished in metallurgy; that they worked with blowpipes and cast in molds; that the objects produced exhibited a high order of skill; and that the native talent was directed with unusual force and uniformity toward the imitation of life forms. It is said that the conquerors were "struck with wonder" at their skill in this last respect. And a strong argument in favor of the genuineness of these objects is found in the fact that it is not at all probable that rich alloys of gold would have been used by Europeans for the base or foundation when copper or bronze, or even lead, would have served as well. We also observe that there is absolutely no trace of peculiarly European material or methods of manipulation, a condition hardly possible if the extensive reproductions were made by the whites. Neither are there traces of European ideas embodied in the shapes or in the decoration of the objects--a circumstance that argues strongly in favor of native origin. An equally convincing argument is found in the fact that all the alloys liable to corrosion exhibit marked evidences of decay, as if for a long period subject to the destructive agents of the soil. In many cases the copper alloy base crumbles into black powder, leaving only the flakes of the plating. Lastly and most important, the strange creatures represented are in many cases identical with those embodied in clay and in stone, and for these latter works no one will for a moment claim a foreign derivation.

Considering all these arguments, I arrive at the conclusion that the ornaments are, in the main, genuine antiquities, and that, if any deception at all has been practiced, it is to be laid at the door of modern goldsmiths and speculators, who, according to Mr. McNiel, are known in a few cases to have "doctored" alloyed objects with washes of gold with the view of selling them as pure gold.

I present the following specimens with a reasonable degree of confidence that all, or nearly all, are of purely American fabrication, and I sincerely hope that at no distant day competent archæologists may have the opportunity of making personal observations of similar relics in place.

The objects consist to a great extent of representations of life forms, in many cases more fanciful than real and often extremely grotesque. They include the human figure and a great variety of birds and beasts indigenous to the country, in styles resembling work in clay and stone of the same region. My illustrations show the actual sizes of the objects.

_The human figure._--Statuettes of men and women and of a variety of anthropomorphic figures of all degrees of elaboration abound. Fig. 26 illustrates a plain, rude specimen belonging to the collection of J. B. Stearns. It was obtained by Mr. McNiel from near the south base of Mount Chiriqui. The body is solid and the surface is rough and pitted, as if from decay. In many respects it resembles the stone sculptures of the isthmus. The metal is nearly pure copper. A piece exhibiting more elaborate workmanship, illustrated by Bollaert,[19] is shown in Fig. 27. Another remarkable specimen is illustrated by De Zeltner, but the photograph published with his brochure is too indistinct to permit of satisfactory reproduction. He describes it in the following language:

The most curious piece in my collection is a gold figure of a man, 7 centimeters in height. The head is ornamented with a diadem terminated on each side with the head of a frog. The body is nude, except a girdle, also in the form of a plait, supporting a flat piece intended to cover the privates, and two round ornaments on each side. The arms are extended from the body; the well drawn hands hold, one of them a short, round club, the other a musical instrument, of which one end is in the mouth and the other forms an enlargement like that of a flute, made of human bone. It is not probable that this is a pipe. Both thighs have an enlargement, and the toes are not marked in this little figurine.[20]

In Fig. 28 we have a rather rudely made and finished piece collected by Mr. McNiel, and now owned by Mr. Stearns. It exhibits features corresponding with a number of those referred to by De Zeltner. The foundation is thin and is of base metal coated with pure gold. I present two additional examples of the human figure from the collection of Mr. Stearns. One of them (Fig. 29) is an interesting little statuette in dark copper that still retains traces of the former gilding of yellow gold. The crown is flat and is surrounded by a fillet of twisted wire. The face is grotesque, the nose being bulbous, the mouth large, and the lips protruding. The hands are represented as grasping cords of wire which connect the waist with the crown of the figure and seem to be intended for the bodies of serpents, the heads of which project from the sides of the headdress. Similar serpents project from the ankles. The feet are flattened out as if intended to be set in a crevice. The extremities--excepting the feet--and the ornaments are all formed of wire. The various parts of the figure have been modeled separately and set together while the material was in a plastic or semiplastic condition. This is clearly indicated by the sinking of one part into another at the points of contact.

An excellent example of the more elaborate figures is shown in Fig. 30. It is of reddish gold, slightly alloyed apparently with copper, and has in finishing received a very thin wash or plating of yellow gold, which is worn off in exposed parts. The central feature of the rather complicated structure is a grotesque human figure, much like the preceding, and having counterparts in both clay and stone. The figure is backed up and strengthened by two curved and flattened bars of gold, one above and the other below, as seen in the cut. The figure is decked with and almost hidden by a profusion of curious details, executed for the most part in wire and representing serpents and birds. Three vulture-like heads project from the crown and overhang the face. Two serpents, the bodies of which are formed of plaited wire, issue from the mouth of the figure and are held about the neck by the hands. The heads of the serpents are formed of wire folded in triangular form and are supplied with double coils of wire at the sides, as if for ears, and with little balls of gold for eyes. Similar heads project from the sides of the head and from the feet of the image.

The peculiarities of construction are seen to good advantage in this specimen. The figure is made up of a great number of separate pieces, united apparently by pressure or by hammering while the material was somewhat plastic. Upwards of eighty pieces can be counted. The larger pieces, forming the body and limbs, are hollow or concave behind. Nearly all the subordinate parts are constructed of wire.

_The bird._--Images of birds are numerous and vary greatly in size and elaboration. They are usually represented with expanded wings and tails, the under side of the body being finished for show. The back is left concave and rough, as when cast, and is supplied with a ring for suspension or attachment, as seen in the profile view (Fig. 31). The owl, the eagle, the parrot, and various other birds are recognized, although determinations of varieties are not possible, as in many cases the forms are rude or greatly obscured by extraneous details. The example shown in Fig. 31 is of the simplest type and the rudest workmanship, and is apparently intended for some rapacious species, possibly a vulture. The body, wings, and tail are hammered quite thin and are left frayed and uneven on the edges. The material appears to be nearly pure copper plated with yellow gold. Specimens of this class are very numerous. One, presented in a publication of the Society of Northern Antiquaries, and now in the museum at Copenhagen, is thought to be intended for a fish hawk, as it carries a fish in its mouth. De Zeltner mentions a statuette in gold of a paroquet, whose head is ornamented with two winged tufts. Such a specimen may be seen in the collection of Mr. Stearns.

Fig. 32 is reproduced from Bollaert. It represents a parrot and is very elaborately worked.

_The puma._--Representations of quadrupeds are common; a good example, copied from Bollaert, is given in Fig. 33. The animal intended is apparently a puma, a favorite subject with Chiriquian workers in clay and stone as well as in gold. The body is hollow and open beneath and the fore feet are finished with loops for suspension. A similar piece with head thrown back over the body is shown in Fig. 34. The metal in this case appears to be nearly pure copper.

_Grotesque figure._--Another piece collected by Mr. McNiel is outlined in Fig. 35. The metal is quite base and the surface has been coated with gold, which is now nearly all rubbed off. The shape is that of a quadruped. The face has a rather grotesque, not to say satanic, expression. The details are not unlike those of other examples previously given.

_The fish._--The fish was a favorite subject with the ancient nations of South America, and is modeled in clay, woven into fabrics, and worked in metals with remarkable freedom. It was in great favor in Chiriqui and must have been of importance in the mythology of the country. It occurs most frequently in pottery, where it is executed in color and modeled in the round. The very grotesque specimen in gold shown in Fig. 36 is copied from Harper's Weekly of August 6, 1859, where it forms one of a number of illustrations of these curious ornaments. The paper is, I believe, by Dr. F. M. Otis, who had just returned from Panama. A very curious piece owned by Mrs. Philip Phillips, of Washington, represents a creature having some analogies with the fish figure of Otis. Issuing from the mouth is the same forked tongue, each part terminating in a serpent's head. The body is about two inches long and the back has five triangular perforations. The tail is forked and the four leg-like members terminate in conventional serpents' heads. The metal is pure or nearly pure gold.

_The frog._--The frog appears in the plastic art of Chiriqui more frequently perhaps than any other reptile. Its form is reproduced with much spirit and in greatly varying sizes, degrees of elaboration, and styles of presentation. It is probable that a number of species are represented. In Fig. 37 we have a large, rather plain specimen, now in the National Museum. The body and limbs are concave beneath, the metal being about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. Teeth are suggested by a number of perforations encircling the jaws and the eyes are minute hawk bells containing pellets of metal. The legs are placed in characteristic positions, and the hind feet are broad plates without indications of toes, a characteristic of these golden frogs. The framework or foundation is of copper, apparently nearly pure, and the surface is plated with thin sheet gold, which tends to flake off as the copper foundation corrodes.

The minute, delicately finished example given in Fig. 38 contrasts strongly with the preceding. It is also of base metal plated with pure gold and belongs to the collection of Mr. Stearns.

_The alligator._--The alligator, which appears so frequently in the pottery of Chiriqui, is only occasionally found in gold. A striking specimen, illustrated in Harper's Weekly of August 6, 1859, is given in Fig. 39. A similar piece, formed of base metal, is in the collection of Mr. Stearns.