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Details / Information for Ornament

Ornament

250–550 CE

Mexico or Central America, Maya

Medium
jadeite
Measurements
Overall: 14.9 x 3.2 cm (5 7/8 x 1 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1972.3
Public Domain
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Location
233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
Print

Description

Greenstone ornaments were part of Maya nobles' regalia. This comes from an ornament that was cut in half in antiquity. The original, twice as wide, probably hung from an elaborate belt, crucial to royal costume.
A vertical jadeite ornament, rectangular with a rounded top, is mottled dark green and punctured by two drill holes at the apex. The lower register is carved with white incised lines forming stacked glyphic symbols and a face in profile. A thin horizontal crack cuts across the base, where the dark green stone fades into a pale, yellowish-tan hue.

Ornament

250–550 CE

Mexico or Central America, Maya

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