Lot 212
Pre-Columbian, Mayan territories, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A beautiful bead, finely carved from a piece of jade of apple green and milky white hues with russet inclusions, representing an acrobat arched over the surface. The value of jade for people in ancient Central America lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation, and it was also related to beliefs about death and the afterlife. For example, the Maya placed jade beads in the mouths of the dead, and this pendant likely once adorned an elite individual in the grave to accompany him in the afterlife. Just as green jade was reserved for elite Chinese emperors, in the Pre-Columbian world precious articles made from jade were reserved for royalty. Bilaterally perforated behind the headdress for suspension. Hand drilled for suspension and/or attachment. Size: 1.25" in diameter x 1" H (3.2 cm x 2.5 cm)
Though post-dating the Maya, a legendary story about the Aztec leader Moctezuma illustrates just how valuable jade was to the ancients of the Americas. Moctezuma gave the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes four jade beads as tribute, noting that each bead was worth two loads of gold. The Spanish conquistador, however, only longed for gold, and dismissed the jade treasures as nothing more than lackluster green rocks. Moctezuma was amused by this foolish preference of the Spaniard.
Provenance: private R.D. collection, Long Beach, California, USA collection, acquired over twenty-five years from various major galleries
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#124349
- Condition: A couple of minor surface fissures and normal wear commensurate with age. Otherwise superb.
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