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Pectoral Ornament

c. 1200–1519
gold, jadeite
Overall: 8 x 7.2 cm (3 1/8 x 2 13/16 in.)
Gift of James C. Gruener in memory of his wife, Florence Crowell Gruener 1983.190
Location: not on view
Public Domain
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Description

This extraordinary pendant consists of a conch shell section carved in jade, enclosed in a delicate gold frame with tiny dangling bells. This symbol was worn by the deity Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), a culture hero credited in one myth with creating human life by sprinkling his blood on ground bones. The pectoral may have been worn by a priest, or by a ceremonial impersonator of Quetzalcoatl.
Gold ornament shaped like a conch shell, or an eight-point star and inset with jadeite, a green-grey specked mineral carved with a spiral in the center. Two gold circles fit between each of the arms of the star and a row of the circles lined up across the top. From circular hooks at the bottom dangle cylindrical gold bells with rounded bottoms.

Pectoral Ornament

c. 1200–1519

Mexico, Guerrero, Ichcatiopan, Mixtec or Aztec style

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