1
_ID%3D5501
Jewelry
Ceremonial Half-Celt Pendant
Greater Nicoya artist, (active )
Greater Nicoya artist
Costa Rica
Primary
3 3/8 x 1 3/8 x 1/2 in. (8.6 x 3.5 x 1.3 cm)
.
.
.
overall
overall
.
.
.
with mount
overall
Green stone
Green stone
Greater Nicoya Culture Zone; made in Costa Rica
ca. 300 BCE - 500 CE
300 BCE
500
Pre-Columbian art of Central & South America
Jewelry
This form traces its lineage from actual working hand-axes whose blades, or celts, were used for farming and felling trees for land use. In this incarnation, the celt has become strictly ceremonial, yet it maintains its ties to the power and prestige that accompanies land ownership. The half-celt form is one subdivision of a whole celt, carefully split length-wise to produce two pieces, each with a flat back and curved and carveable front. Depicting a crouching figure, this image may represent the human-animal combination of a shaman.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
1973.142
item
Memorial Art Gallery
2/3/2001
73.142SL1
slide
full
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Graphics/blank.gif
73.142DI1
digital image
2 x 2
00/00/00
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/73.142_A1.jpg
73.142DI#2
digital image
5/12/2009
http://127.0.0.1:5000/Media/images/73.142_A2.jpg