Pre-Columbian, Mexico and Guatemala, Mayan Territories, Late Classic, ca. 550 to 900 CE. Gorgeous apple green jade carved into a pendant in the form of a god's face - one of the Death Gods of the Mayan pantheon. The face is leering and skeletal, with huge empty eye sockets, a bone-like nose, and no mouth. Drill perforations pierce the sides diagonally and the area where the mouth would have been horizontally. The back of the pendant - where the jade fades to a creamy brown - is convex and largely uncarved, with two additional perforations drilled into it. Size: 0.9" W x 1.6" H (2.3 cm x 4.1 cm)

The value of jade for people in ancient Central America lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation, and it also seems to have related to beliefs about death and the afterlife. For example, the Maya placed jade beads in the mouths of the dead, and this pendant likely once adorned someone in the grave. This depiction of the Death God was probably location-specific, because many of the Mayan city-states had their own version, but adhered to general Mayan understandings about these ominous deities, who inhabit a dark underworld and often parade with a motley crew of spooks and were-beasts.

Provenance: private R.D. collection, Long Beach, California, USA collection, acquired over 25 years from various major galleries.

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#124354

Very light surface wear with encrustation in lower profile areas. Cord shown in photo is not included.