Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste-Nicoya, ca. 250 to 800 CE. Finely carved and string cut from jadeite of rich verdant hues, an axe god celt presenting an anthropomorphic visage with a magnificent bird atop his head - perhaps representing a ruler wearing an avian headdress or a shaman undergoing transformation - his celt-shaped body delineated with joined hands over the abdomen. In addition to this symbolic imagery, the attention to detail is impressive. The human face is comprised of partially drilled round eyes, arched brows flanking a V-shaped mark - a knitted brow as if engaged in deep concentration, a wide triangular nose, an open mouth as if praying or singing, and nasolabial folds. His arms/wings are delineated with triangular marks, and the outfacing fingers of his touching hands are finely delineated. The bird atop his head is meticulously rendered with feathery wings flanking a beaked visage with round eyes and crest feathers. A superb example of ancient Costa Rican jadework, biconically drilled behind the neck. Size: 5.4" H (13.7 cm)

The value of jade in the Pre-Columbian world lay in its symbolic power; scholars believe its color was associated with water and vegetation. Costa Rica, along with Mesoamerica, is one of the two regions where jade was extensively carved in the Pre-Columbian world. The earliest example of worked jade, a pendant excavated from a burial site on the Nicoya Peninsula, dated to the mid-first millennium BCE. It appears that jade continued to be carved into personal ornaments, usually depicting anthropomorphic deities or animals such as birds, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, or frogs, until approximately 700 CE when gold became the favored material to fashion such ornaments.

Provenance: ex Craig Hendrix collection, South Carolina, USA; ex Charles Craig Jr. collection, Costa Rica, acquired in the 1960s and 1970s

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#154100

Biconically drilled behind the neck for suspension or attachment. Minute nicks to peripheries and minor surface wear commensurate with age. Hand-carved and string-cut and hand polished. Exquisite. Old collection label on back.