Jade square bead or pendant / Mesoamerican; Mayan

Essay/Description

Square stone bead or pendant, which is hollowed out and surrounded by various designs.

You may be interested in...

Jade effigy pendant

Ceramic effigy rattle

Ceramic bird effigy figure

Anthropology Item Information

©Gilcrease Museum

Title(s):

Jade square bead or pendant

Culture:

Mesoamerican; Mayan

Date:

Unknown

Period:

Mesoamerican Prehistoric

Place:

México

Materials/Techniques:

jade

Dimensions:

Overall: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm)

Classification:

Archaeological Objects

Object Type:

Pendant

Accession No:

61.8591

Department:

Anthropology

Collection:

Kravis Discovery Center

Not On View

Tags and Search Terms

Tags:

adornment, Art, Ceremonial, jewelry, Kravis Discovery Center, Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican, Mexican, México, Precolumbian, Pre-Columbian

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).

» View All

Cite this Page

Jade square bead or pendant. 61.8591. Kravis Discovery Center. Unknown. Tulsa: Gilcrease Museum, https://collections.gilcrease.org/object/618591 (06/08/2017).

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.

Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Gilcrease Museum

The World’s Largest Collection of Art and Artifacts of the American West