Pre-Columbian, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. This is a large greenstone tapered hand tool of a highly stylized ritual form with a curved blade. Meticulously flaked and then sanded smooth, this is a remarkable piece of art, designed to look like a common weapon but used for a votive function, probably carried in a ceremony and/or buried with its owner. Comes with custom stand. Size: 2.2" W x 7.1" H (5.6 cm x 18 cm)

Research in the late 1990s and early 2000s pinpointed the source of "Olmec blue" jadeite at being in the lowland Motagua River near the modern day border of Guatemala and Honduras; stone from this source was carved and traded widely throughout early Mesoamerica. The value of jade for ancient people lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation; later, the Maya would place jade beads in the mouths of the dead. Many scholars have argued that the demand for jadeite contributed to the rise of long distance trading networks and to the rise of urban centers in ancient Mesoamerica. This would have been an exceedingly valuable and rare piece of ceremonial art.

Provenance: Ex-Private Arizona collection

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#118979

Small areas of wear, especially to end that does not have a blade edge.