Pre-Columbian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Olmec, ca. 1000 to 400 BCE. A striking maskette hand-carved from a beautiful jade stone of deep mint green, created by the Olmec, the oldest major civilization in Mexico. The piece is expertly worked with graceful, subtle contours and signature Olmec traits including a jowly face that juts outward around the mouth, a wide nose, downturned mouth, and narrowed eyes. The temples, eyes, and nostrils are drilled, creating detail and allowing for suspension or attachment at the temples. Size: 1.65" W x 1.95" H (4.2 cm x 5 cm); 3.2" H (8.1 cm) on included custom stand.

The attention to detail on this piece is quite impressive. Note the expressive lips and cleft palette of the jaguar mouth, the full nose with pierced nostrils, the phalange ears, and the stylized elliptical-shaped eyes. To the Olmecs, masks and maskettes like this example carried many meanings, not all of which are obvious to us today; however, scholars surmise that the blue-green color of jade was associated with vibrant growth, renewal, and given the cyclical conception of life and death, rejuvenation after death.

Provenance: ex private Wales, UK collection acquired from an old American collection that was originally formed in the 1960s

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#130953

Light surface wear commensurate with age, including some small chips and nicks. Stable surface fracture along one eyebrow, with light encrustation in the lower profile areas.