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Home > Art > Izapan Double Alligator Pendant

Izapan Double Alligator Pendant

Pendant carved with two stylized alligators' heads facing away from each other.
Artist

Unknown Artist

Date

100 BCE-100 CE

Medium

Light green jade

Object Type

Sculpture

Dimensions

H- 1 3/4 x W- 4 3/4 x D- 1/8 in. (4.4 x 12.1 x 0.3 cm)

Collecting Area

Pre-Columbian

Credit Line

The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection

Accession Number

1996.06.1

Copyright

© The Vilcek Foundation

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alligator animal Izapan mexico Pendant
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Pendant carved with two stylized alligators' heads facing away from each other.

About the Object

Carved from green jade, this pendant demonstrates two stylized caiman or alligators that may have been associated with creation and death along with water and astronomy. Indeed, the Izapa may have originated the 290-day calendar often attributed to the Maya. This knowledge would have been vital to ensuring agricultural production throughout Mesoamerica.

 

Additional Information

The site of Izapa in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico, is considered to have unique features different from its contemporaries, especially its inclusion of humans engaged in ritual contests with animals: alligators/caiman, big cats such as jaguars, and what some scholars believe to be snake-like deities. Some scholars also argue that Izapan style reflects links with other cultures including the Olmec and Maya.

[Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY];

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alligator animal Izapan mexico Pendant
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