Pre-Columbian, Costa Rica, ca. 500 to 1000 CE. A skillfully carved mace head, from a light blue-green jade stone, of an overall rounded form depicting a human head with legible eyes, nose, and ears - possibly representing the user, or the trophy head he was hoping to obtain in battle. The shiny, long curvilinear bands across the surface are inherent to the stone; however, the sculptor may have used these to his advantage as they appear to represent components of a helmet. The calcite covered surface, showing particularly on the interior perforation, is how all authentic mace heads look before they are polished; most are often over-polished but this one, thankfully, is not. A very rare example! Size: 2.25" L x 2" W x 1.875" H (5.7 cm x 5.1 cm x 4.8 cm)

Provenance: Ex-Private New Orleans collection acquired over 25 years ago

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