Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt
Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt

Olmec Blue Green Jade Stone Celt

17693

$1,800
/
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Ca. 1000–400 BCE
A finely polished mottled blue-green jade or jadeite celt, the gently convex body tapering from a rounded butt to a single beveled cutting edge. Smooth and unincised, the form emphasizes the dense, speckled green stone and the refined surface finish associated with Olmec ritual celts. Intact and in excellent condition, presented on a custom stand.

Size: 3-3/4 in. (9.5cm) L. + custom base.
The Princeton University Art Museum notes that finely polished jadeite and greenstone celts are among the most enigmatic Olmec objects and, although shaped like axe heads, often functioned as potent religious objects placed in ritual caches. Blue-green jade was especially valued by the Olmec and has been connected with fecundity, plant life, water, polish, and translucency.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art states that Olmec artists used greenstone axes or celts as symbolic maize sprouts, and that such objects could be “planted” in dedicatory offerings to activate ceremonial spaces and encourage agricultural fertility. The Met also notes that Olmec art is renowned for both monumental volcanic-stone sculpture and intricate jade works imported from distant regions.

Provenance: Private Florida collection; acquired from Barry Kernerman, Toronto; ex Samuel Dubiner, Tel Aviv, acquired in the 1960s.

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.

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