Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste-Nicoya, ca. 250 to 800 CE. A gorgeous jade stone pecked and polished into a thin flint-like pendant in the shape of a miniature celt with a suspension drilled from one side through to the other. The sheer quality of the stone is best exemplified when backlit - the whole piece is semi-translucent and glows throughout, with some darker veining near the wider tip. Size: 2.25" L x 1" W (5.7 cm x 2.5 cm)

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. 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 British Columbia, Canada collection, gifted from aunt in Tucson, Arizona, USA, acquired prior to 1994

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#182700

Minor chips and nicks to wider tip, with some dark veining and light mineral deposits to this area. Old cotton knot from a cord tied to the drill hole.