. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. Known as the Kunz Axe because it was owned at the (urn of the century by Frederick Kunz, a gem expert at TifTany's in New York, this jade ceremonial axe has a distinctive place in the history ol' Ohnec objects. It is one of the largest jade artifacts ever found in Middle America and one of fewer than a dozen such large Olmec stone ceremonial axes. The Kunz Axe weighs 15'/2 pounds. It once weighed more, but a portion of the back was cut away, prob- ably to make other objects. The axe is made of blue-green jade. It represents a typica
. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. Known as the Kunz Axe because it was owned at the (urn of the century by Frederick Kunz, a gem expert at TifTany's in New York, this jade ceremonial axe has a distinctive place in the history ol' Ohnec objects. It is one of the largest jade artifacts ever found in Middle America and one of fewer than a dozen such large Olmec stone ceremonial axes. The Kunz Axe weighs 15'/2 pounds. It once weighed more, but a portion of the back was cut away, prob- ably to make other objects. The axe is made of blue-green jade. It represents a typical man-jaguar with an exaggerated mouth, interlocking fangSs a broad nose and slanting eyes. What appears to be a knife is held to the chest. Ceremonial Axe. Olmec. Blue-green jade. Height 11 inches. Such naturally posed figures of jade are a distinct Olmec sculptural type: a nude without sexual features but tending toward maleness. In this case, the figure is thinner and more elongated than usual. Characteristic of such figures is a stance with the knees slightly bent and some indication of a loin cloth. In ancient times the left arm of this figure was inexplicably sawn ofT—probably by the Olmecs themselves. Olmec standing man. Jade. Height 516 Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original American Museum of Natural History; Boltin, Lee; Meyer, Alfred P. , 1935-. New York : American Museum of Natural History
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