Pre-Columbian, Guerrero, Mexico, Mezcala culture, ca. 500 BCE to 500 CE. This is a collection of three greenstone ear pools / plugs, all with a flared flat trumpet shape. Only the most elite personages in Mesoamerican society were able to wear ear spools made of jadeite. Ancient Mesoamericans believed that ears were the conduits for spiritual energy, and so ear ornaments like this one took on significant meaning. Some scholars have argued that the stretching of earlobes -- done progressively through spool sizes to limit tearing and pain -- may have been a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood; ear spools may also have been thought of as an extension of the ear. Size: 2" W x 1" H (5.1 cm x 2.5 cm)

Provenance: Ex - Private W. S. collection, Los Angeles, Ca

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#114284

All intact, with slight wear.