A Costa Rican Jadeite Bird-Celt Pendant, Early Classic Period, ca. 100 - 600 CE Sculpture - Architectural as is to be expected

as is to be expected from the hand-polishing process used in the fabrication

2001 Kintore Kiwirrkura

Melbourne2000 Beaver Galleries

of typical ancient design

private collection of Mrs

A Costa Rican Jadeite Bird-Celt Pendant, Early Classic Period, ca. 100 - 600 CE Sculpture - Architectural as is to be expectedMany bird form pendants of Costa Rica feature a lower section shaped like a workaday celt or ax. The stone celt of teardrop shape was the common working tool in the ancient Americas, and in some instances the shape itself took on greater, perhaps even sacred, significance. Finely carved in translucent blue green jadeite, the lower part of this pendant is an example of how the celt shape was integrated into prized personal ornaments. At the top of the