Description:

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Olmec, ca. 600 to 400 BCE. A beautiful carving using a massive found piece of creamy pale grey green and beige jadeite. A modicum of string cut and drilled lines create the impression of a frog crouched on a rounded surface. The eyes are most prominent, a series of concentric circles at the sides of the stone; the mouth and nose complete the face. Arms and legs are in relief on the sides. In Mesoamerica, people would have heard the chorus of frogs and toads as rain arrived - indeed, to the Maya, frogs are known as the musicians of the rain god Chaac. The connection between frogs and lifegiving water means that many frog images are carved from jade, as this one, which was symbolically connected to water itself. The hallucinogenic secretions of the largest Mesoamerican toad, Bufo marinus, were likely used by the Olmec in religious ritual, and we know they were used by the later Maya too. Size: 4" L x 5.2" W x 3.2" H (10.2 cm x 13.2 cm x 8.1 cm)

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-Violy D. McCausland collection, New York, USA, acquired in the 1970s

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#143554

  • Condition: Light wear on surface commensurate with age, with matte patina and deposits. Excellent preservation of details.

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April 25, 2019 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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