The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 14, 2026

A jadeite-albitite bar bead is shaped like a long, vertical rectangle of mottled seafoam-green stone with rounded corners. Near the top and bottom, two oval cartouches contain black-pigmented illustrations of symbolic figures and patterns, each divided into four distinct sections. Darker green spots pepper the smooth surface, and a small notch marks the center of the bottom edge. The drawings stand out with sharp lines against the speckled, pale green background.

Bar Bead

250–550 CE

Mexico or Central America, Maya

jadeite-albitite, modern black pigment
Overall: 4.6 x 7.2 cm (1 13/16 x 2 13/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1950.377
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

Greenstone ornaments were part of Maya nobles’ regalia. The hieroglyphs of the bead, which hung horizontally, refer to two Maya rulers.
  • Brummer Collection
    Brummer Collection
  • The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N4580 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    "Workshops." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 56, no. 1 (January/February 2016): 21. Reproduced: p. 21 archive.org
  • Munich, Germany: Haus der Kunst; October 17-December 12, 1958. cat. no. 397. Zurich, Switzerland: Kunsthaus; January 1- February 28, 1959. cat. no. 318. Paris, France: Galerie Charpentier; March 15- May 15, 1959. cat. no. 220. Holland: The Hague; June 1- July 31, 1959. Berlin, Germany: Academie der Kunst, October 3- November 22, 1959. cat. no. 577. Circulating exhibition of "Pre-Columbian Art from Mexico and Central America."
  • {{cite web|title=Bar Bead|url=false|author=|year=250–550 CE|access-date=14 August 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.377