On view
Pendant in the form of a winged oyster shell,
1000–400 BCE
More Context
Didactics
Few objects in Olmec art can be admired more for pure unadorned form than the jade spoon seen here. The subtly angled long handle, the dip of the bowl, and the shorter projection suggest a symbolism beyond functional considerations. The concavity is finely graded from the handle to the half curve, which marks the deepest point. Two holes along the top edge indicate that the spoon could also have been worn as a pendant. The form of these asymmetrical spoons has been interpreted as the body of a tadpole or a long-tailed bird, and many are incised with avian symbols. These receptacles may have been used for hallucinogens to induce the shaman's meditative trance and flight. (from The Olmec World, 1996)
Information
1000–400 BCE
North America, Mexico, Guerrero
By 1989, John B. Rhoads, Mexico City [1]; 2004, John B. Rhoads sold to the Princeton University Art Museum.
Notes:
[1] Lent to the Princeton University Art Museum in 1989 (L.1989.109.14).
- Michael D. Coe et al., The Olmec World: Ritual and Rulership (Princeton, Princeton University Art Museum, 1996)
- Carolyn Tate and Gordon Bendersky, "Olmec Sculptures of the Human Fetus," Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 42, no. 3 (1999): 303-332., fig. 20, p. 329 (illus.)
- "Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2004," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 64 (2005): p. 91-135., p. 102
