Standing Figure
c. 900–400 BCE
- Medium
- serpentine
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 10.6 x 4.5 x 2.5 cm (4 3/16 x 1 3/4 x 1 in.)
- Culture
- Mesoamerica, Mexico, Olmec
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Art of the Americas
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
- 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 Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
The Olmec were Mesoamerica's greatest lapidaries; their work in jade and serpentine was prized by both contemporary and later Mesoamerican cultures. Human beings were jaguar traits (such as the downturned mouth and paw-like hands of this figurine) are common in Olmec art. Such creatures were probably believed to possess supernatural powers.
