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Home > Art > Olmec Spoon

Olmec Spoon

Flat, dark green celt with engraved imagery.
Artist

Unknown Artist

Date

1000-800 BCE

Medium

Unidentified green stone (likely jade)

Object Type

Sculpture

Dimensions

H- 10 1/8 x W- 2 1/2 x D- 1 in. (25.7 x 6.4 x 2.5 cm)

Collecting Area

Pre-Columbian

Credit Line

The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection

Accession Number

2006.02.1

Copyright

© The Vilcek Foundation

Tags
Cipactil Crocodilian Monster jade Olmec
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Flat, dark green celt with engraved imagery.

About the Object

This “spoon” carved from dark green jade was likely fashioned from a celt, or stone hand axe, with the bowl portion made from the handle of the celt and the present handle section from the original blade. This particular work has the glyph for the god Cipactli engraved into the work as well. For the later Tlascan people, Cipactli became associated with crocodiles, caiman, or serpents and was believed to represent chaos and the version of Earth that predated the creation of the present universe.

 

Additional Information

Like many jade objects, this spoon may have been associated with rituals or mortuary practices. However, jade also existed as a form of monetary exchange as the most precious material in the Mesoamerican world. Thus, such objects could be viewed as having some similar functions as currency, but with very different ideas of worth attached to and underpinning their importance to society.

[Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY];

Tags
Cipactil Crocodilian Monster jade Olmec
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