A Costa Rican Jadeite Bird-Celt Pendant, Early Classic Period, ca. 100 - 600 CE Amulets - Protection 2004 Wynne Prize

2004 Wynne Prize

This piece represents the sophisticated synthesis of sculpture

Provenance: Old English collection

then by descent to his daughter

A Costa Rican Jadeite Bird-Celt Pendant, Early Classic Period, ca. 100 - 600 CE Amulets - Protection 2004 Wynne PrizeMany bird form pendants of Costa Rica feature a lower section shaped like a workaday celt or ax. The stone celt of teardrop shape was the common working tool in the ancient Americas, and in some instances the shape itself took on greater, perhaps even sacred, significance. Finely carved in translucent blue green jadeite, the lower part of this pendant is an example of how the celt shape was integrated into prized personal ornaments. At the top of the