Warrior Pendant300–600 CE

On view:

David Geffen Galleries, Stonework from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Coast

No image

Title: Warrior Pendant
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 300–600 CE
Medium: Jadeite
Dimensions: 3 4/5 x 3 x 4/5 in. (9.652 x 7.62 x 2.032 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost
Accession Number: M.2010.115.869
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: Carved in relief on one side of this greenstone plaque is a male figure standing in profile. He holds a square shield with a design of crossed bands in his right hand and a spear in his left. An ancestor mask, perhaps meant to represent a greenstone mosaic mask, hangs from his belt, and a bird perches on his head. An extra nose and set of lips are visible in front of the figure’s face. This may be a convention to convey that the figure wears a mask, and the viewer is seeing through it as if with X-ray vision. A hole drilled vertically through the center of the plaque suggests its use as a pendant.

Alyce de Carteret

2024

On view:

David Geffen Galleries, Stonework from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Coast

No image

Title: Warrior Pendant
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Mexico or Guatemala
Date Made: 300–600 CE
Medium: Jadeite
Dimensions: 3 4/5 x 3 x 4/5 in. (9.652 x 7.62 x 2.032 cm)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by Camilla Chandler Frost
Accession Number: M.2010.115.869
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: Carved in relief on one side of this greenstone plaque is a male figure standing in profile. He holds a square shield with a design of crossed bands in his right hand and a spear in his left. An ancestor mask, perhaps meant to represent a greenstone mosaic mask, hangs from his belt, and a bird perches on his head. An extra nose and set of lips are visible in front of the figure’s face. This may be a convention to convey that the figure wears a mask, and the viewer is seeing through it as if with X-ray vision. A hole drilled vertically through the center of the plaque suggests its use as a pendant.

Alyce de Carteret

2024