Pre-Columbian, Central America, Costa Rica, ca. 1 to 800 CE. An absolutely gorgeous and still wearable long, thin jadeite pendant, drilled at top and bottom and through the uppermost and lowermost panels. The body is divided into segments at its ends and tapers slightly at one end. The jade itself grades from a pale, almost seafoam blue color to a deep, vegetation-like dark green color at its widest end. Size: 0.5" W x 3.9" H (1.3 cm x 9.9 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; 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. Jade would have come to Costa Rica in the form of axe-blades (celts) that would then be worked by local artisans into pendants like this one. The exoticism of stone that had traveled so far probably contributed to the value of these objects in ancient Costa Rica. By 800 CE, gold had replaced jade as the prestige material.

Provenance: private Vaught collection, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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#124087

Tiny chip from inside of one drilled hole. Tiny area of imperfection on one side. Cord shown in photo is not included.