Tags: craft | gold

Panama Gold Monkey Decoration

巴拿馬金屬猴裝飾

The birthday present to President Chiang Kai-shek, giving by Lu Cham Tao, the Trustee of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Panama, on November 7, 1969, was made by the ancient indigenous Indians of Panama. It is a gold monkey decoration. The monkey has a vivid facial expression and long arms and legs. Its two hands face downward and hold a stick horizontally across its chest; two feet stretch forward and form a circle; tail droops and curls back at the end. There is a small hole beneath the monkey's abdomen and a small ring on the back of the neck. The monkey is stored in a yellow-green dragon-pattern samite box. Affixed on the surface of the box is a piece of red paper with wordings of "Respectfully presented to the President from the Trustee Lu Cham Tao and colleagues of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association in Panama" and "Birthday-congratulation 83 130." The inner layer of the box is red-flannelled. Inside the box is a piece of paper with handwritten writing, "Intelligent Monkey Brings Good Fortune. This antique was made about eight hundred to one thousand years ago by the ancient indigenous Indians of Panama. It was made of pure gold, using indigenous methods, and shaped like a monkey. Its design is simple and demeanor is vivid; a truly remarkable piece considering it was made by indigenous people almost a thousand years ago. This antique piece symbolizes auspiciousness, dignity, and supreme authority, and was worn by the head of ancient Indians to expel evil spirits and beget good fortune."

Academia Historica (The Digital Project of Presidential Collections)