Trophy Head Pendant

Creator Name

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Unknown

Cultural Context

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Costa Rican

Date

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4th century

About the work

Curationist LogoCurationist Object Description
Olmecs were the first Mesoamerican civilization to produce jade objects. They had a preference for blue-green stones which they carved into ornaments and tools.

Since the Olmecs, ancient Latin American civilizations have continued to rework jade objects. Small works like pendants would be modified for new owners, over generations. This particular pendant resembles the blue-green jades of Olmec work. It has a central opening bordered by abstract, disembodied heads. Ancient Costa Rican warriors took their opponents' heads as trophies, emulated in their art.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Object Description

Pendant

Work details

"--" = no data available
Curationist Logo= Curationist added metadata(Learn more)

Title

Trophy Head Pendant

Creator

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Unknown

Worktype

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Jewelry; Pendant (jewelry)
Stone-Ornaments

Cultural Context

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Costa Rican
Central Region

Material

Jadeite

Dimensions

H. 2 3/4 × W. 2 3/4 × D. 1/2 in. (7 × 7 × 1.3 cm);
depth: 1.2700025centimetre;
height: 6.985014centimetre;
width: 6.985014centimetre

Technique

--

Language

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Date

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4th century
4th–7th century

Provenance

Gift of Carol R. Meyer, 1996

Style Period

--

Rights

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Public Domain
Public Domain

Inscription

--

Location

Costa Rica

Subjects

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Head; Abstraction; War trophy

Topic

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Jade

Curationist Metadata Contributors

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Amanda Acosta

All Works in Curationist’s archives can be reproduced and used freely. How to attribute this Work:

Unknown, Trophy Head Pendant, 4th–7th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Ancient Costa Rican warriors took their opponents' heads as trophies, emulated in their art. Public Domain.

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