Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste / Nicoya region, ca. 200 to 600 CE. An enigmatic standing figure, hand-carved from a mottled pale-green stone with beige and dark inclusions. The form is tapered with a round handle end and a curving bottom edge, and a biconically-drilled hole through the neck allows for suspension. The obverse side depicts abstract avian features with drilled eyes and string-cut features including a wide beak, slender arms with delineated fingers, small round breasts and a furrowed brow, and a zigzag-adorned headband. The reverse clearly shows the technique used in shaping this from a large stone and then string cutting it vertically from each side until the piece can be broken away. Size: 1.55" W x 5" H (3.9 cm x 12.7 cm)

Our XRf shows the composition as 23 to 24% silica, which indicates it is classified as jade (25%).

Provenance: private British Columbia, Canada collection, gifted from aunt in Tucson, Arizona, USA, acquired prior to 1994

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#182710

Intact and choice. Reverse never polished in antiquity.