Description:

Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico/Guatemala, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. A gorgeous grey-green jade spoon necklace. The jade used to make this necklace is beautiful, with deep grey-green, brown-green, and white tones. The form is a long, rectangular trough drilled through the back in three places for suspension. A round bowl is in the center of the trough, expanding and deepening its sides. This was made to be used and worn during shamanic rituals. Psychoactive substances seem to have been used in ritual near-universally in ancient Mesoamerica, as the Spanish described upon their arrival. Items found through archaeological investigations attest to how important drug rituals were for religious ceremonies and healing. Size: 8" W x 2" H (20.3 cm x 5.1 cm)

This necklace was made by string cutting, drilling, and using sandstone as an abrasive, all remarkable achievements, given that jadeite is an incredibly hard stone to work. Olmec artisans used long distance trade routes to acquire the material, bringing jadeite from Eastern Guatemala, over three hundred miles from their homeland. Jadeite seems to have been associated with water, vegetation, and young corn, the staple food of Olmec life. Based on burial practices, particularly the objects from important burials at La Venta in the present day Mexican state of Tabasco, we believe that jade was reserved for high nobility, royalty, and the gods.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Ian Arundel collection, California, USA

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#123610

  • Condition: Small chips appropriate to age, with some encrustation on the back.

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May 25, 2017 8:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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