HUMAN FIGURE IN COPPER AND GOLD. 



43 



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 gohl. 

 I present two additional examples of the human figure from the col- 

 lection of Mr. Stearns. One of tliem (Fig. 2U) is an interesting little 



Fig. 29. Grotesque human figure m iieiih i m I 1 • i ] iiinll\ coated with yellow gold. 



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 ma- 



Fig. 30. Grotesque human figure in nearly pure gold. 



terial was in a plastic or semiplastic condition. This is clearly indi- 

 cated by tlie sinking of one part into another at the points of contact. 



