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Celt-Shaped Pendant
c. 300 BC - AD 600
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
Costa Rican jade pendants may imitate the shape of axe blades (celts) used for agriculture. The pendants often take the form of "axe gods," creatures with human, bird, or animal traits. Jade carving was common in Costa Rica before ad 500, but then declined in importance. Gold eventually replaced jade as the region’s preferred luxury material.
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Details
- Title: Celt-Shaped Pendant
- Date Created: c. 300 BC - AD 600
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 15.2 x 5.4 cm (6 x 2 1/8 in.)
- Provenance: Mr. Enrique Vargas Alfaro, Decatur, GA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Jewelry
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1972.4
- Medium: jadeite
- Department: Art of the Americas
- Culture: Costa Rica, Southern Nicoya region, c. 4th century BC - AD 7th century
- Credit Line: James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund
- Collection: AA - Intermediate Region
- Accession Number: 1972.4
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