Description:

Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Mayan Territories, Maya, Classic period, ca. 250 to 900 CE. A beautiful Mayan pendant, hand-carved from a mottled pale-green stone with dark-green inclusions, depicting the face of a male lord. Almond eyes, a bulbous nose with accompanying nose ring, puffy cheeks and chin, and a furrowed brow add depth and personality to the regal visage, with cupped ear spools and an intricate necklace exude an air of opulence and aristocratic status. The lord dons an enormous jaguar-style headdress, with piercing eyes, slender nose, and stylized facial musculature, with a biconically-drilled suspension hole. The feline's size compared to the human face in this piece alludes to the jaguar's symbolic might, superseding that of even the most commanding personage, and how embracing the jaguar as an authoritative symbol can amplify the control a ruler has over their territory. A stunning example from the storied Mayan Empire! Size: 2" W x 2.375" H (5.1 cm x 6 cm).

The form of the jaguar was revered throughout the Pre-Columbian New World as the mightiest wild feline and was used as a symbol of power and kingship. In Classic Maya art, the jaguar is associated with lordly might and as an avatar for the gods. Many rulers during this time took jaguar names: Shield-Jaguar and Bird-Jaguar, for example. One of the Hero Twins described in the Quiche book Popol Voh, the most famous Maya text, is named Xbalanque, which is almost certainly derived from the word for jaguar, "balam", and that twin is shown in art with jaguar pelt markings on his face and body.

Provenance: private Chicago, Illinois, USA collection

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#129068

  • Condition: Age-commensurate surface wear, fading to some carved designs, minor nicks to peripheries and verso, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits within some recessed areas.

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April 5, 2018 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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