Description:

**First Time At Auction**

Pre-Columbian, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. A haunting incised human face on a beautiful and opaque pearly cream and pale green jade bead. Slight signs of wear around the hole through the center. Size: 0.85" W x 0.55" H (2.2 cm x 1.4 cm)

The value of jade for ancient people lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation; later, the Maya would place jade beads in the mouths of the dead. Many scholars have argued that the demand for jadeite contributed to the rise of long distance trading networks and to the rise of urban centers in ancient Mesoamerica. This bead would have been a valuable and treasured object, probably buried with its owner.

Provenance: Ex-Private Smith Collection, Atlanta, GA

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#119928

  • Condition: Age wear to surface but design is clear. Suspension cord shown in photograph is not included.

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January 30, 2017 10:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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