Maya Jade Pectoral, Standing Lord Relief

Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerica, Maya, ca. 500–800 CE. A pale blue-green jade plaque carved in low relief with a standing dignitary in full regalia, his right hand raised beneath the chin and his left arm dropped to his side. He wears an elaborate headdress, a large ear ornament, and a broad belt set with circular medallions, the details rendered in shallow incision and rounded modeling on a stone left ample and full bodied, its rear face smoothly worked with softened edges. Biconical drill holes pierce the top and bottom for suspension, indicating that the plaque hung as a chest ornament, likely from the person of an elite wearer. Jade of this color was the most valued material in the Maya world, reserved for rulers and for offerings to the gods. Size: 3.875" W x 2.125" H (9.8 cm W x 5.4 cm H).

For the Maya, jade (jadeite sourced almost exclusively from the Motagua River valley of present-day Guatemala) carried a dense web of meaning: the green of new maize, the breath-soul that left the body at death, water and the fertile center of the cosmos. Rulers wore it at the throat, wrists, and ears, and were buried in it, sometimes with a bead placed in the mouth.

Figural pectorals of this type, with paired biconical perforations at head and foot, were strung horizontally or vertically as part of composite regalia. The seated or standing lord with hand raised toward the face is a gesture repeated across Classic period stelae and painted vessels, associated with speech, address, or deference within court ceremony. The pale, mottled tone of this example, sometimes called "cloudy" or "pale green" jadeite, was worked as readily as the deeper apple-green material and appears in burials across the Peten and the Usumacinta drainage.

Provenance: Ex. Theodore Monel, NYC., 1970. Ex. Anthony Carnaggio, NYC.

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Item #

73057

Condition
A tiny, very minor edge flake on the tip of his belt, otherwise intact, Excellent condition.

Buyer's Premium
30%