In ancient Latin America, gold symbolized power and spiritual wealth but was never used for money. Long before the arrival of the Europeans, Indigenous cultures in South and Central America had mastered mining, hammering, and casting gold to produce jewelry, ornaments, masks, and other items. In Costa Rica, frogs were a popular symbolic motif, commonly associated with the creation of the sea. It is thought that the spirals found in many cast frogs are meant to symbolize water. Materials: pewter with gold finish Length: 1 1/2" From the collections of the Penn Museum
