48 



ANCIENT ART (JF THE PROVINCE OF CHIRIQUl 



placed in characteristic ijositious, ami tlie 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. ;J8 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 



I 



Fig. .39. Figure of an alligator, in gold, published in Harper's Weekly, 1R59. 



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. 



The crayfish f/J.—h) Fi^-. 4n we liave a fine specimen, intended ap- 



iiHtal pLated with gold. 



parently to represent a cray tish or some similar crustacean form. The 

 head is supplied witli complicated yet graceful antenna-like append- 



