6 Mixtec Penate Amulets | Miniature Carved Stone Pendants
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Oaxaca, Mixtec, ca. 800–1200 CE. A group of six miniature standing figures carved from jadeite and serpentine in pale green, white, and mottled russet stone. Each is reduced to essentials: a squared head with lentoid eyes and a straight slit mouth, arms folded across a plain torso, and short legs incised with parallel grooves. The four largest are the most finely worked and retain biconically drilled suspension holes at the back, allowing them to be worn. The two smallest are undrilled, likely votive deposits rather than personal ornaments. Known as penates, such figures served as portable household guardians, buried as offerings or carried as protective amulets. All preserve ancient surface patinas with scattered earthen deposits. Size: 0.75" H (1.9 cm H).
The term "penate" was borrowed by early Spanish chroniclers from the Roman di penates, the household gods of the Latin home, and applied to the small stone effigies they found in Mixtec and Zapotec dwellings across the Oaxaca valleys. The comparison was apt enough to stick: these figures were kept in domestic shrines, tucked into building foundations, and interred with the dead, functioning as tutelary presences bound to a family or lineage rather than to a temple.
Mixtec lapidaries were among the finest in Mesoamerica, a reputation confirmed by the Tomb 7 treasure at Monte Alban. Working greenstone without metal tools, they shaped and drilled with abrasives, cane and hollow-reed drills, and quartz sand, producing the paired conical borings visible on the drilled examples here. Greenstone itself carried meaning beyond craft: its color linked water, maize, and breath, making even the plainest amulet a small statement about fertility and continuity.
Provenance: Ex. collection of Nancy and John Hyde Devoe, NYC. and N.J., active 1950’s - 1970’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73051
Condition
All have excellent ancient surface patinas and scattered deposits. All intact.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Oaxaca, Mixtec, ca. 800–1200 CE. A group of six miniature standing figures carved from jadeite and serpentine in pale green, white, and mottled russet stone. Each is reduced to essentials: a squared head with lentoid eyes and a straight slit mouth, arms folded across a plain torso, and short legs incised with parallel grooves. The four largest are the most finely worked and retain biconically drilled suspension holes at the back, allowing them to be worn. The two smallest are undrilled, likely votive deposits rather than personal ornaments. Known as penates, such figures served as portable household guardians, buried as offerings or carried as protective amulets. All preserve ancient surface patinas with scattered earthen deposits. Size: 0.75" H (1.9 cm H).
The term "penate" was borrowed by early Spanish chroniclers from the Roman di penates, the household gods of the Latin home, and applied to the small stone effigies they found in Mixtec and Zapotec dwellings across the Oaxaca valleys. The comparison was apt enough to stick: these figures were kept in domestic shrines, tucked into building foundations, and interred with the dead, functioning as tutelary presences bound to a family or lineage rather than to a temple.
Mixtec lapidaries were among the finest in Mesoamerica, a reputation confirmed by the Tomb 7 treasure at Monte Alban. Working greenstone without metal tools, they shaped and drilled with abrasives, cane and hollow-reed drills, and quartz sand, producing the paired conical borings visible on the drilled examples here. Greenstone itself carried meaning beyond craft: its color linked water, maize, and breath, making even the plainest amulet a small statement about fertility and continuity.
Provenance: Ex. collection of Nancy and John Hyde Devoe, NYC. and N.J., active 1950’s - 1970’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73051
Condition
All have excellent ancient surface patinas and scattered deposits. All intact.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
