Pre-Columbian, Mayan Territories, Late Classic, ca. 550 to 900 CE. A beautiful jade face pendant, given its details by a series of deeply grooved vertical and horizontal lines. Also dozens of orange shell seed beads and turquoise-colored greenstone seed beads, made during the Mayan period. In addition, Pre-Columbian, Central America, Panama, Gran Cocle culture, ca. 800 to 1000 CE. A pair of gold (both roughly 20 karat) zoomorphic pendants, one a cayman with a shovel-shaped body and the other a bat standing with ears up and wings spread wide. These ancient materials are all strung together using modern cord and a modern clasp to create a colorful, wearable necklace! Size of jade pendant: 1.2" W x 1.7" H (3 cm x 4.3 cm); size of bat pendant: 0.65" W x 0.55" H (1.7 cm x 1.4 cm); length of chain: 20" L (50.8 cm)

The value of jade for people in ancient Central America lay in its symbolic power: perhaps its color was associated with water and vegetation, and it also seems to have related to beliefs about death and the afterlife. For example, the Maya placed jade beads in the mouths of the dead, and this pendant likely once adorned someone in the grave.

Gold ornaments have been found in Panamanian graves from this period and in deposits in cenotes, probably signifying a ritual purpose. Elites in the Cocle culture seem to have adorned themselves in fabulous gold ornaments, mostly made from gold found in rivers.

Provenance: ex-private New York, USA collection

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#138089

Small loss from back of jade pendant. Otherwise all ancient components are in excellent condition. On a modern cord, with a modern clasp.