Duck-Face Ornament 10th–4th century Olmec This exquisite pendant made of high-quality translucent blue-green jadeite portrays an avian entity with a pointed duckbill. The artist portrayed the waterbird in frontal view, skillfully modeling the contours of the large eyes, nostrils, and beak; incised lines indicate the margins of the bill. A raised central portion that extends upward from the forehead may represent a feathered crest. Eight conical drill holes from the reverse side pierce the line of the bill, the center, and the upper left and right of the pendant. Affixed with fibers throug
Duck-Face Ornament 10th–4th century Olmec This exquisite pendant made of high-quality translucent blue-green jadeite portrays an avian entity with a pointed duckbill. The artist portrayed the waterbird in frontal view, skillfully modeling the contours of the large eyes, nostrils, and beak; incised lines indicate the margins of the bill. A raised central portion that extends upward from the forehead may represent a feathered crest. Eight conical drill holes from the reverse side pierce the line of the bill, the center, and the upper left and right of the pendant. Affixed with fibers through these holes, the pendant likely formed part of an assemblage of jade beads as a centerpiece in ceremonial regalia. Traces of red pigment in the recesses of the relief and drill holes suggest that this treasured object also comes from a funerary context. Ducks and other waterfowl were revered by ancient Mesoamerican peoples for their ability to cross between the realms of the sky, the earth, and underwater places. Several examples of Olmec and later Isthmian art, such as the Tuxtla Statuette, portray duck-billed characters, as if in a state of transformation into avian characters. Later Maya and Aztec deities with duck-billed visages were personifications of wind and sacred breath. Further reading Benson, Elizabeth P., and Beatriz de la Fuente, eds. Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico. Washington, : National Gallery of Art, 1996. Berrin, Kathleen, and Virginia M. Fields, eds. Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico. San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2010. Cheetham, David, and Jeffrey P. Blomster, eds. The Early Olmec and Mesoamerica: The Material Record. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Clark, John E., and Michael Blake El origen de la civilización en Mesoamérica: Los Olmecas y Mokaya del Soconusco de Chiapas, Mexico. In El Preclásico o Formativo: Avances y perspectivas, Martha Carmona Macias, ed. Museo Nacional de Antropología, México Cit
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License: Licensed
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