Pre-Columbian, Classic Maya, ca. 300 to 900 CE. A complementary pair: a simple bracelet composed of a grey-green cylindrical bead and two black-grey disc beads on a modern oxidized silver chain and a necklace with twenty stone beads of similar styles and colors, also on a modern oxidized silver chain. The necklace's chain is studded with two creamy white cylindrical beads, four large round beads ranging from black and white to green, and eight smaller disc beads of similar colors. At the bottom of the strand is a long, grey-green cylindrical bead above five dangling black-green disc beads that form a tassel. Length of necklace strand: 27" L (68.6 cm); length of bracelet strand: 7" L (17.8 cm)

The value of greenstone (jade or jadeite) for ancient people lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation. The Maya also placed jade beads in the mouths of the dead. Many scholars have argued that the demand for jadeite contributed to the rise of long distance trading networks and to the rise of urban centers in ancient Mesoamerica.

Provenance: private Denver, Colorado, USA collection

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#129818

Beads have light wear commensurate with age but are generally in excellent condition. Modern stringing.