01 Photograph Gallery

02 Object Information

Description

Description

Stone mask, possibly funerary, made of light green jade, forming an anthropomorphic face with hazel eyes; a prominent, aquiline nose; and thick, slightly parted lips.

Its ears are rectangular, resembling lateral flanges with scrolls, and are decorated with flower-shaped ear ornaments.

This piece has been restored with fragments assembled in acrylic to be fully reversible.

Technical report on authenticity and manufacture

* All fragments of this piece are pre-Columbian and show no traces of modern tools. However, it originally lacked eyes, and there are serious doubts as to whether the ear ornaments, although Pre-Columbian, belong to another piece and were added in modern times.

Additional Information

Anonymous donation in 2016.

It was reported that the fragments were found on the Pacific piedmont of Guatemala, between the southern part of the Lake Atitlán basin and the southern border with Mexico (this information cannot be verified).

Period

CLASSIC (150/200 A.D.-900 A.D.)

Provenance

Mayan Area

Medium / Material

Conch shell, Jade / Jadeite, Obsidian

Technique

Incised, Inlaid, Perforation, Worked

Dimensions

Height: 19.5 cm
Width: 22.5 cm

03 References and Exhibitions

References to similar objects

Exhibitions

1. Library of the CIT Building of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (Special Collections Section). Lot #3 for an indefinite period since March 10, 2022.

Publications