Fig. 36. Figure of a fish in gold. From Harper’s Weekly, 1859.
The frog.—
The frog appears in the plastic art of Chiriqui more frequently perhaps than any other reptile. Its form is reproduced with much spirit and in greatly varying sizes, degrees of elaboration, and styles of presentation. It is probable that a number of species are represented. In Fig. 37 we have a large, rather plain specimen, now in the National Museum. The body and limbs are concave beneath, the metal being about one-sixteenth of an inch thick. Teeth are suggested by a number of perforations encircling the jaws and the eyes are minute hawk bells containing pellets of metal. The legs are
placed in characteristic positions, and the 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.
Fig. 37. Large figure of a frog in base metal plated with gold.
The minute, delicately finished example given in Fig. 38 contrasts strongly with the preceding. It is also of base metal plated with pure gold and belongs to the collection of Mr. Stearns.