Costa Rican Stone Axe God Pendant

**Originally Listed At $400**

Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, Guanacaste / Nicoya region, ca. 200 to 600 CE. An enigmatic standing figure, hand-carved from a mottled deep-green stone with beige and dark inclusions. The form is tapered with a round handle end and a curving bottom edge, and a biconically-drilled hole through the top of the head allows for suspension. The obverse side depicts abstract anthropoid features with drilled eyes and string-cut features including a wide mouth, slender arms with delineated fingers, a furrowed brow, and a zigzag-adorned headband. Size: 2" W x 5.25" H (5.1 cm x 13.3 cm); 6.125" H (15.6 cm) on included custom stand.

The ancient Costa Ricans were influenced by the Olmec to their north, and may have even repurposed Mesoamerican hand axes for their own purposes. The figure here has incised carvings that reveal minimalist facial features characteristic of early Costa Rican artwork. This carving was likely a funerary offering placed in a tomb along with an individual of notoriety or prestige.

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

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#182708
Condition Report: Old chip to reverse that appears as a tiny notch to front, right. Seems probable that this notch was supposed to be deliberate and similar to the notch on the left but was done incorrectly resulting in this old damage. This was most often where a drilled suspension hole would have been placed.