Large Sinú Gold Finial of a Bird, circa AD 500-100

Sinú finials were prominent ornaments for important staffs or scepters. They were cast with naturalistic images of key fauna and fowl of the region that represented different levels of the universe.

This is a particularly large and densely cast finial of a proud avian, likely an owl, distinguished by the broad lunate head trimmed by spirals, long neck, and the teardrop-shaped body marked by three rows of openwork circles separated by faux filigree braided bands. The braided bands are a featured trait of Sinú finials, here marking the sharply recurved beak and encircling the eyes, trimming the bird's legs and the back of the cylindrical shaft. The delicate loop at the tip of the beak is a typical feature of the finials, indicating the possible further adornment by a perishable object. 

Sinú art is part of the greater Zenu region which encompasses the Sinú, San Jorge, Nechi, and lower Cauca river valleys. The Spaniards noted the quality and quantity of the goldwork made in this region, which was traded over a wide area. Bray quotes the 16th c. account of Juan de Castellanos (1589); Sinú goldsmiths made "figurines of various kinds, aquatic creatures, land animals and birds, ...also javelins with hoops of gold of various sizes, ...and models of flies, spiders, and other unpleasant insects." (Warwick Bray, The Gold of Eldorado, London, 1978, p. 41).

For examples of avian finials, see Ana Maria Falchetti, El oro del Gran Zenú. Metalurgia prehispánica en las llanuras del Caribe colombiano, Bogotá, 1995, pp. 39-40, figs. 1-2, and fig. 2d for a highly similar bird identified as an owl.