Lot 201C
Pre-Columbian, southern Mexico / Guatemala, Olmec culture, ca. 1150 to 550 BCE. A huge ceremonial brown jadeite hand axe (celt) with cream-colored, swirling highlights in the stone, its broad face incised with fantastical iconography. It has been polished to a semi-glossy finish. Photos do not quite do the piece justice - the iconographic elements are clear and easily seen in person. Motifs flow down the face to create a mythical being. Peter D. Joralemon, in his 1971 publication, "Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology, Number 7, A Study in Olmec Iconography", has classified many of these stylistic motifs. Numbers corresponding to his designations are included in the description below. The engravings on this ceremonial hand axe show the Maize God, also known as God II in the Olmec pantheon. Comes with custom stand. Size: 2.5" W x 10.8" H (6.4 cm x 27.4 cm); height on stand: 16.25" (41.3 cm)
The uppermost portion of the engraving is a Cleft-Ended Vegetation (90) that curves to the right (facing). Below the curve of the vegetation is a square box with crossed diagonal bands called a St. Andrews Cross (101) and a curved inset (133) along the figure's right edge. The bottom half of the vegetation is a Banded Maize symbol (88). Below that is the main part of the etched figure's headdress, which features Maize Sprouting from a Bracket (83) with a horizontal band just below the central sprout. There are two suspended tear drops on each side of the central sprout. These three together may represent the Three Teardrop Shapes of the Flanking Commas (130). Further down the face is a Winged Rectangle (134) headband, formed by two horizontally-positioned clefts and a central rectangle. There is a semi-circular incision just above the central rectangle, which combined form a Banded Maize (88) symbol. The sides of the head have long ears with double insets (133). The eyes are almond-shaped, with incised irises (6D). The nose is wide and flattened, with double nostrils. The diagonal barred-cross (101) forms the bridge of the nose. The mouth is classically Olmec (19), with a flaring upper lip, upper gum line, and drooping corners. On each side of the mouth are further Cleft-Ended Vegetation (90) motifs descending below the mouth and eventually curving outwards at each end. Below the mouth is a large, inverted Banded Maize (88) symbol and a small tri-part beard attached to the lower lip, representing a small Maize Sprouting from a Head Cleft (81). Below this area are two Cleft-Ended Vegetation (90) symbols of different size. The larger curves to the axe's left, crossing behind the bottom of the Banded Maize symbol. It has two insets along its inner edge. The smaller one curves to the right and sprouts from the larger, passing behind the Banded Maize. A single Seed-Corn Dot (91) is suspended to the right of the large, inverted Banded Maize symbol, opposite the small Cleft-Ended Vegetation.
The Cleft-Ended Vegetation, Maize Sprouting from a Head Cleft, and the Banded Maize symbols all indicate that this is the Maize God, Olmec God II. This figure is rarely shown with a body and the deity's face is associated with a snarling jaguar form in largely anthropomorphic features. The maize sprouting from the top of the clefted head has been deliberately mirrored by the artisan in the form of the hand axe, which scholars believe also represented the ear of corn.
Provenance: ex private S. Dubiner, B. Kernerman, and V. Sadighi collections, found in Chiapas, Mexico in the early 1960s as part of the S. Dubiner collection.
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#124991
- Condition: Intact, with small flaws at the end from age and handling.
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