Name: Fine Maya Jade Maize God Pectoral Pendant
Brand: Art for Eternity
SKU: 13782
Price: 7500.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Fine Maya Jade Maize God Pectoral Pendant - Art for Eternity

$7,500.00

Shipping calculated at checkout.

Free insured US shipping on most pieces

Guaranteed authentic, with signed certificate of authenticity

14-day returns

Late Classic, Ca. 600–900 AD

A finely carved blue-green jade (jadeite) figural pendant depicting a standing dignitary or deity, both hands brought to the chest, wearing an elaborate headdress and prominent ear spools. The face is rendered in crisp, low relief with well-defined eyes, nose, and mouth, set within the natural celt-form of the polished stone. A perforation is drilled through the head for suspension, confirming its use as a pectoral worn on the chest. The reverse retains the unworked, water-smoothed cobble surface typical of jade sourced from the Motagua River Valley of Guatemala.

For the Maya, blue-green jade was the most precious of materials, its color symbolizing maize, agricultural fertility, sacred water, and breath/life itself. Pectoral pendants of this type depicted rulers wearing the regalia of supernatural beings — most often the Maize God, the embodiment of renewal and royal legitimacy — and were worn by 7th–8th-century kings and queens as emblems of divine authority. Comparable Late Classic jade pectorals are documented at Tikal (Burial 196) and Salitrón Viejo, and held in the Metropolitan Museum and Denver Art Museum.

The "hands-to-chest" posture and abundant jade ornament directly echo Classic depictions of the Maize God, who is conventionally shown adorned with jade beads, pendants, and diadems. The celt-shaped format reflects the practice of recarving polished axe-form blanks (themselves charged with agricultural and lightning symbolism) into figural ornaments.

Condition: Intact, excellent condition; surface deposits in the recesses; suspension perforation through the head.

Size: 3-3/8 in. H × 1-5/8 in. W (8.6 cm × 4.1 cm), excluding mount; on custom display mount.

Provenance: Private collection of a Florida physician.

Every object is guaranteed authentic and as described, and has been legally acquired and imported in accordance with U.S. and applicable foreign regulations on the movement and sale of antiquities. A signed certificate of authenticity with a description and photograph accompanies this object. Any restoration is described on the invoice.

Free insured shipping within the United States on most pieces; oversized works are quoted at checkout. We pack and ship ourselves, usually within two business days. International shipping by USPS or DHL is calculated at checkout; if your country is not listed, write to us. Customs forms state the full value; international buyers are responsible for duties and taxes.

Any object may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a refund or credit. Contact us first. See Buying from Us.

Fine Maya Jade Maize God Pectoral Pendant

You may also like

Recently viewed

Currency

Get in the know

Fine Maya Jade Maize God Pectoral Pendant