Minneapolis Institute of Art

Mask

Olmec artist

Date

c. 900–300 BCE

Medium

Jadeite, cinnabar

Culture

Olmec

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The Olmec are the first known civilization in Mesoamerica (which roughly spanned from present-day Mexico to El Salvador), based in what is now the southern part of Mexico. They made sophisticated sculptures using jadeite, a greenstone that is as rare and precious as it is difficult to carve. This mask probably alludes to an Olmec leader. It combines human features with the almond-shaped eyes and downturned lips that the Olmec used to evoke the jaguar, an animal revered by all the civilizations of the ancient Americas for its strength, agility, and reputation as a stealthy predator. México

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