Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste-Nicoya, ca. 250 to 800 CE. A gorgeous carved jade axe god celt of rectangular form and rich hues of dark greens and blues with celadon highlights. Highly burnished, the remarkable object is intricately incised with an avian anthropomorphic design featuring 2 ovoid recessed eyes, a zigzag striped headband, a large pointed beak with 3 horizontal striations, 2 wing-like arms down at his sides, and a slender belt, striped both horizontally and vertically in different areas. A pair of carved indentations flanks the upper part of the figure, creating a separation of head and body and also allowing a space for a horizontal drill hole for suspension. A superb example from ancient Costa Rican culture! Size: 2" L x 0.25" W x 4.875" H (5.1 cm x 0.6 cm x 12.4 cm); 5.75" H (14.6 cm) on included custom stand.
The value of jade in the Pre-Columbian world lay in its symbolic power; scholars believe its color was associated with water and vegetation. Costa Rica, along with Mesoamerica, is one of the two regions where jade was extensively carved in the Pre-Columbian world. The earliest example of worked jade, a pendant excavated from a burial site on the Nicoya Peninsula, dated to the mid-first millennium BCE. It appears that jade continued to be carved into personal ornaments, usually depicting anthropomorphic deities or animals such as birds, monkeys, crocodiles, serpents, or frogs, until approximately 700 CE when gold became the favored material to fashion such ornaments.
Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection; ex-private B. Antinano collection, Hialeah, Florida, USA, acquired in the 1960s
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#160983
Condition
Reattached chip to lower left corner with resurfacing and paint along visible crack line, as well as minor restored area in vicinity of break line. Small piece of upper left corner repaired and painted. Minor chip to middle of left side reattached and painted. Some light scratches and nicks throughout. Otherwise, excellent with great remaining detail.