Avian Pendant600–900 CE

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Title: Avian Pendant
Place Made: Costa Rica
Date Made: 600–900 CE
Medium: Green jade
Dimensions: 8 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (21.59 × 6.35 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Accession Number: M.2016.334.29
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: This pendant is in the form of stylized stacked birds. The artist cleverly composed this work so that the head of the main avian figure simultaneously forms the body of the smaller bird on top: the cheeks and eyes framing the large beak of the main figure also form the wings of the bird that sits on top. Instead of tapering to a sharp edge, as would be expected of a pendant carved from a celt, this example takes the shape of a tray. The thicker section at the bottom is transversely perforated, which is in addition to two transverse perforations at the neck and shoulders of the main figure, plus a drilled hole to separate the beak from the face. How exactly it would have been strung to wear is unclear, but it may have been part of a complex arrangement of pendants, or attached to clothing using multiple fastenings.

Julia Burtenshaw

2024

Not on view

No image

Title: Avian Pendant
Place Made: Costa Rica
Date Made: 600–900 CE
Medium: Green jade
Dimensions: 8 1/2 × 2 1/2 × 1 1/2 in. (21.59 × 6.35 × 3.81 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Accession Number: M.2016.334.29
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: This pendant is in the form of stylized stacked birds. The artist cleverly composed this work so that the head of the main avian figure simultaneously forms the body of the smaller bird on top: the cheeks and eyes framing the large beak of the main figure also form the wings of the bird that sits on top. Instead of tapering to a sharp edge, as would be expected of a pendant carved from a celt, this example takes the shape of a tray. The thicker section at the bottom is transversely perforated, which is in addition to two transverse perforations at the neck and shoulders of the main figure, plus a drilled hole to separate the beak from the face. How exactly it would have been strung to wear is unclear, but it may have been part of a complex arrangement of pendants, or attached to clothing using multiple fastenings.

Julia Burtenshaw

2024