Finial with Bird (Harpy Eagle with Royal Flycatcher Crest?)
Unknown Artist
400–1000
Medium
gold, cast
Dimensions
11.4 × 7.2 × 6 cm
Classification
Metalwork
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2015.3
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This gold finial fit over the end of a staff, an emblem of rank. The bird has the hooked beak of a raptor—perhaps the harpy eagle, the “king” of tropical forests. The enormous crest, however, may be inspired by the Royal Flycatcher, a smaller bird that fans its unique, brilliantly colored crest during mating.