The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Necklace and Nose Ornament

150–200 CE

Central Mexico, Teotihuacán, Classic period

jadeite-albitite?, gold
Overall: 40.3 cm (15 7/8 in.); Each bead: 2 cm (13/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.263
Location: 233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region

Description

Near Teotihuacán’s largest palace is a temple ornamented with green-feathered serpents, symbols of the earth’s fertility. Beneath the temple were at least 120 human sacrifices, most men, many warriors, and some wearing greenstone ornaments like these, perhaps a set. The sacrifices may have consecrated the temple or a ruler’s tomb, or both.
  • ?-1965
    Valetta Swan,1965, to James C. and Florence C. Gruener
    1965-1990
    James C. [1903-1990] and Florence C. [1908-1982] Gruener, Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1990
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • Young-Sánchez, Margaret. “The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (September 1992): 234–275. Mentioned: p. 274, no. 120 www.jstor.org
  • {{cite web|title=Necklace and Nose Ornament|url=false|author=|year=150–200 CE|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1990.263