The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 16, 2026

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

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

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.
  • Year in Review: 1972. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 27-March 18, 1973).
  • {{cite web|title=Ornament|url=false|author=|year=250–550 CE|access-date=16 April 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1972.3