ceremonial axe;
figurine
- Museum number
- Am,St.536
- Description
-
Votive axe or celt, made of polished green quartz (aventurine) in the form of a figure with a large head and a small, stocky body that narrows into a blade shape. Mouth is slightly opened, with a flaring upper lip and the corners turned down; flaming eyebrows; cleft in the middle of the head. On the lower part, hands and a loincloth have been incised.
- Production date
- 1200 BC - 400 BC
- Dimensions
-
Height: 29 centimetres
-
Width: 13.50 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
Slip "St.536".
-
McEwan 2009
This massive ceremonial axe (celt) combines characteristics of the caiman and the jaguar, the most powerful predators inhabiting the rivers and forests of the tropical lowlands. The pronounced cleft in the head mimics the indentation found on the skulls of jaguars and has been compared to the human fontanelle. These clefts feature on other Olmec sculptures and in imagery in which vegetal motifs spring from similar cracks and orifices, alluding to the undergroung sources of fertility and life. The crossed bands glyph lightly incised on the waistband represents an entrance or opening. The combination of symbols on the axe proclaims its magical power to cleave open the portals to the underworld, reinforcing the association of "celts" with agriculture and maize - ground stone axes were indispensable for felling forest trees and clearing ground for planting. Utilitarian objects were often personified in this way so as to represent the qualities and attributes of supernatural deities. Accumulating inner sould force, they became potent objects that were handed down from one generation to the next.
- Location
- On display (G27/dc1)
- Acquisition date
- 1860-1869
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am,St.536
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: Am186?C5.536 (old CDMS no.)
