Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, ca. 7th to 9th century CE. A beautiful pair of green stone - in the color sometimes called "apple green" - ear spools with an ovoid shape and short, cylindrical, hollow plug. Jade ear spools are a symbol of Maya royalty. Size: 1.05" W x 0.75" H (2.7 cm x 1.9 cm)

Jade was revered by the Maya not only for its beauty, but also because it had spiritual power - it was believed to be the embodiment of the wind and the "breath" that formed the Maya soul. Ear spools like these are often shown in profile in Mayan art, usually with a bead or serpent emerging from that central hollow plug; this is interpreted to be a symbolic supernatural passageway for the breath of the soul to travel through. Ear spools like these were probably heirlooms, their jade and style associated by the Maya with the older cultures before them, specifically the Olmec, and seem to have been passed down through families for centuries. In that sense, they may also have been seen as a way to communicate with the ancestors.

Provenance: Ex-private , San Francisco, CA Collection

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#119717

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