Jadeite Maya Necklace with Clam Effigy Pendant...

Description

Jadeite Maya Necklace with Clam Effigy Pendant

Maya
C. 200-600 AD
Jadeite
14½" Long

The necklace is composed of twenty four well matched green jadeite beads, two small imperial color child's flares, and a central pendant of a bivalve clam effigy. The beads are crafted from nice choices of polished stones and range in size from ¼" thick to 5/8" thick. The effigy is shaped identically to a clam shell with a thicker rear and very tapered edges surrounding the remaining lip. The pendant measures 3 7/8" wide and could have served as a 'spoon', or small mixing dish, for preparing pigments for paint by a scribe or used by a shaman for preparing the ritualistic hallucinogens. Pendant is well polished overall and reproduces the shells that are very frequently seen on figural depictions of Maya men who wear one suspended across their chest.

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