Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico/Guatemala, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. A pretty grey-green jadeite spoon necklace, with a long, rectangular trough forming its upper portion and a thin, slanted trough that connects to a round bowl forming its lower portion. The upper trough has been pierced through the back for suspension. Psychoactive substances seem to have been used in ritual near-universally in ancient Mesoamerica. The Spanish recorded the practice when they arrived, and items found through archaeological investigations attest to how important drug use was in the culture for ritual and healing. Size: 2.5" W x 3" H (6.4 cm x 7.6 cm); 4.7" H (11.9 cm) on included custom stand.
This necklace was made by carving, string cutting, drilling, and using sandstone as an abrasive, all remarkable achievements, given that jadeite is an incredibly hard stone to work. Olmec artisans used long distance trade routes to acquire the material, bringing jadeite from Eastern Guatemala, over three hundred miles from their homeland. The stone seems to have been associated with water, vegetation, and young corn, the staple food of Olmec life. Based on burial practices, particularly the objects from important burials at La Venta in the present day Mexican state of Tabasco, we believe that jade was reserved for high nobility, royalty, and the gods.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private Ian Arundel collection, California, USA
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#143637
Condition
Wear to surface commensurate with age, with some encrustation in lower profile areas.