AN OLMEC JADE EFFIGY PENDANT

MIDDLE PRECLASSIC, CA. 1150-550 B.C.

Details

AN OLMEC JADE EFFIGY PENDANT
Middle Preclassic, ca. 1150-550 B.C.
Carved of a solid block in the form of a stylized head of a wild duck, the long beak recurved with a protrusion, characteristic rounded head and ovoid eyes, a thin incised line extending along the mouth and curling up to the beak and forming the tiny nostrils; in grey-celadon green stone, with a deep concave groove along the reverse of the beak perhaps for attachment to the lower half.
Lenght 4 1/2 in. (10.8 cm.)

Lot Essay

Cf. Before Cortes, figs. 49 and 50, for related examples.

Olmec artists often portayed animals representative of the three levels of the cosmos: water, earth and air.

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