Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. An incredible piece of ancient craftsmanship, hand-carved jade celt with a deep blue-green coloration and a graceful presentation. The celt is a tapered hand tool of a highly-stylized ritual form with an ovoid form and a curved blade. Meticulously flaked and then sanded smooth to a reflective sheen, this is a remarkable piece of art, designed to resemble a common weapon but used for a votive function, probably carried in a ceremony and/or buried with its owner. Size: 2.55" W x 5.85" H (6.5 cm x 14.9 cm); 6.45" H (16.4 cm) on included custom stand.

Research in the late 1990s and early 2000s pinpointed the source of what is colloquially referred to as "Olmec blue" jadeite 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: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Arte Primitivo, New York, USA

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#131970

Very light surface scratching commensurate with age, but overall excellent.