id:			132407
accession number:	1954.856
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/1954.856
updated:		2022-01-04 15:54:59.141000

Celt with Deity, 1000-300 BC. Mexico, Olmec, 1200-300 BC. Stone; overall: 32.2 x 14 x 11.5 cm (12 11/16 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the Hanna Fund 1954.856

title:				Celt with Deity
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1000-300 BC
creation date earliest:		-1000
creation date latest:		-300
current location:		233 Mesoamerican and Intermediate Region
creditline:			Gift of the Hanna Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Mexico, Olmec, 1200-300 BC
technique:	stone
department:	Art of the Americas
collection:	AA - Mesoamerica
type:		Sculpture
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 32.2 x 14 x 11.5 cm (12 11/16 x 5 1/2 x 4 1/2 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.
	opening date:   1958-03-04T05:00:00
	<i>In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr.</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 4-April 7, 1958).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 4-April 6, 1958.  "In Memoriam: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr." cat. no. 171.

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PROVENANCE

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fun fact: 


digital description: 


wall description: 
This ceremonial object has the head of a deity and a body shaped like an axe blade (celt) used to clear land for agriculture. The flared mouth, toothless gums, and fangs are typical of Olmec supernatural beings. The meaning of the body's "four-dots-and-a-bar" motif is unclear, but it sometimes appears in depictions of plants. The deity, then, seems to be associated with fertility.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Milliken, William M. "Two Pre-Columbian Sculptures." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 42, no. 4 (April 1955): 58-61.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 58; mentioned: P. 59-60
	url:		http://www.jstor.org/stable/25142030

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 290
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n314

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 290
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n314

	Joralemon, Peter David. <em>A Study of Olmec Iconography</em>. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks, 1971.
	page number: 	Mentioned: P. 78, no. 228
	url:		

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 392
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n412

	Kubler, George. <em>The Art and Architecture of Ancient America: The Mexican, Maya, and Andean Peoples.</em> Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1984.
	page number: 	Reproduced: P. 64, fig. 28a
	url:		

	The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
	page number: 	Reproduced: p. 6
	url:		https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n21

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.856/1954.856_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.856/1954.856_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1954.856/1954.856_full.tif