Pectoral
Maya (Mexico or Guatemala)
200–800 CE
- Medium
- Jadeite
- Classification
- Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions
- 7 × 7 cm (2 3/4 × 2 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Mexico
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This elegant chest ornament would have been part of a ruler’s ceremonial regalia. In Maya society, as among other Amerindian peoples, a ruler’s attire indicated rank, religious function, and place of origin. Such dress was highly regulated, and only members of the nobility wore jade and other greenstones as an expression of their wealth and high status. Moreover, these rare and valued stones were considered to be inherently sacred and powerful. By wearing jade regalia, kings directly associated themselves with the youthful green maize plant and life-giving blue-green waters.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
