Pendant in the Shape of a Ruler or Lord Artist: Unknown

A..D. 200–600

Art of the Ancient Americas

On view, 1st floor, Art of the Ancient Americas

This pendant in the shape of a standing male figure probably once belonged to a Maya noble. The craggy nose and specific details of the headdress may indicate that the pendant was intended to be a portrait of a particular individual, possibly the owner himself. The beaded tassel at the top of the headdress is that of the Jester God and is a common attribute of kings and nobles. The use of jade, the most highly prized material among the Maya, is also suggestive of the high status of its owner. The artist has worked this piece of jade, which is intermixed with a number of other minerals, so that the face and headdress would occupy the clearest green vein of the stone.

Medium

Jadeite

Dimensions

3 15/16 × 1 5/8 × 11/16 in. (9.98 × 4.17 × 1.73 cm)

Credit Line

Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A. 1903, Fund

Accession Number

1973.88.6

Geography

Guatemala, or Mexico

Culture

Guatemala or Mexico, Maya

Period

Early Classic Period

Classification

Jewelry

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Fred H. Olsen (1891–1986), and Florence Quittenton Olsen, Guilford, Conn.; gift in 1973 to Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Handbook of the Collections, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1992), 317, ill
  • Linda Schele and Mary E. Miller, The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art (Fort Worth, Tex.: Kimbell Art Museum, 1986),
  • George A. Kubler, ed., Pre-Columbian Art of Mexico and Central America (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1986), 27, 121–22, no. 265, Color pl. 8, ill
  • "Acquisitions, 1973," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 35, no. 1 (Summer 1974), 76, ill
  • "New Acquisitions Issue," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin 24, no. 1 (April 1958), 17, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

human figures (visual works), pendants (jewelry)

Subject

men standing

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