Jade human face effigy gorget / Mesoamerican; Zapotec

Essay/Description

Jade effigy gorget. Engraved human face.

Gorgets are thought to be insignia of office or status. Those with double or more holes may have been attached to clothing, or suspended from the neck as a necklace and worn as personal adornment.

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Anthropology Item Information

©Gilcrease Museum

Title(s):

Jade human face effigy gorget

Culture:

Mesoamerican; Zapotec

Date:

500 BCE - 700 CE

Period:

Late Preclassic to Classic

Place:

Oaxaca, Mexico

Materials/Techniques:

jade

Classification:

Archaeological Objects

Object Type:

Effigy Gorget

Accession No:

55.92

Department:

Anthropology

Collection:

Kravis Discovery Center

Not On View

Dimensions

Overall:

Height: 0 11/20in. (1.4cm)
Width: 1 81/100in. (4.6cm)
Length: 1 14/25in. (4.0cm)

Tags and Search Terms

Tags:

adornment, anthropomorphic, Art, effigies, effigy, effigys, jade, jewelry, man, Mesoamerica, Mexican, México, México, Oaxaca, Precolumbian, Pre-Columbian, prehistoric, sculpture

The Maya greatly valued jade and wore it as a symbol of wealth and fertility. Typically only the wealthiest people, particularly kings, wore and were buried wearing jade. Jade’s color “was associated with the Maize God and evoked his eternal youth and vigor” (Meisler 2004).

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Cite this Page

Jade human face effigy gorget. 55.92. Kravis Discovery Center. 500 BCE - 700 CE. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/5592 (05/25/2017).

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