Pendant of Old Creator Deity Emerging from Conch Shell600–900 CE

Not on view

Title: Pendant of Old Creator Deity Emerging from Conch Shell
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 600–900 CE
Medium: Jadeite with pigment
Dimensions: 2 4/5 x 3 x 3/5 in. (7.112 x 7.62 x 1.524 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost
Accession Number: M.2010.115.484
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: This jade plaque has been carved in the form of a conch shell, the head of an aged creator deity emerging from its aperture. This deity, a wizened man with awesome creative powers named Itzam (also referred to as “God N”) plays a principal role in the creation of space-time in the Maya worldview. He inhabits the primordial sea, hence his association with marine shells. In quadripartite form, he forms the stony pillars that sustain the sky and stewards the cycle of years. Without his efforts, the sky and sea would collapse and swallow the earth, returning the cosmos to the timeless, chaotic pool of his origins. The plaque has two perforations on either side, indicating its use as a pendant, perhaps conferring the same creative powers of Itzam on its wearer.

Alyce de Carteret

2025

Further Reading

Martin, Simon. “The Old Man of the Maya Universe: A Unitary Dimension to Ancient Maya Religion.” In Maya Archaeology 3, ed. Charles Golden, Stephen Houston, and Joel Skidmore, 186–227. Precolumbia Mesoweb Press, 2015.
Selected Bibliography: O'Neil, Megan E. Forces of Nature: Ancient Maya Arts from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Beijing Shi: Wen wu chu ban she, 2018.

Pendant of Old Creator Deity Emerging from Conch Shell600–900 CE

Not on view

Title: Pendant of Old Creator Deity Emerging from Conch Shell
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 600–900 CE
Medium: Jadeite with pigment
Dimensions: 2 4/5 x 3 x 3/5 in. (7.112 x 7.62 x 1.524 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost
Accession Number: M.2010.115.484
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: This jade plaque has been carved in the form of a conch shell, the head of an aged creator deity emerging from its aperture. This deity, a wizened man with awesome creative powers named Itzam (also referred to as “God N”) plays a principal role in the creation of space-time in the Maya worldview. He inhabits the primordial sea, hence his association with marine shells. In quadripartite form, he forms the stony pillars that sustain the sky and stewards the cycle of years. Without his efforts, the sky and sea would collapse and swallow the earth, returning the cosmos to the timeless, chaotic pool of his origins. The plaque has two perforations on either side, indicating its use as a pendant, perhaps conferring the same creative powers of Itzam on its wearer.

Alyce de Carteret

2025

Further Reading

Martin, Simon. “The Old Man of the Maya Universe: A Unitary Dimension to Ancient Maya Religion.” In Maya Archaeology 3, ed. Charles Golden, Stephen Houston, and Joel Skidmore, 186–227. Precolumbia Mesoweb Press, 2015.
Selected Bibliography: O'Neil, Megan E. Forces of Nature: Ancient Maya Arts from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Beijing Shi: Wen wu chu ban she, 2018.