Cleveland Museum of Art

Head Fragment

Date

c. 900–300 BCE

Medium

jadeite

Culture

Mesoamerica, Mexico, Olmec

Department

Art of the Americas

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This sensual head fragment may come from a seated or standing figure like those shown nearby, though much larger. The carving is exceptionally fine, from the slight under-eye puffiness to the delineation of the fleshy lips and the teeth. The profile face of supernatural being is incised just in front of each ear, perhaps indicating that the subject had special power. In ancient Mesoamerica, jade was more valuable than gold.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.