id: 151345 accession number: 1983.190 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1983.190 updated: 2020-05-25 09:01:23.332000 Pectoral Ornament, c. 1200-1519. Mexico, Guerrero, Ichcatiopan, Mixtec or Aztec style. Gold, jadeite; overall: 8 x 7.2 cm (3 1/8 x 2 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of James C. Gruener in memory of his wife, Florence Crowell Gruener 1983.190 title: Pectoral Ornament title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1200-1519 creation date earliest: 1200 creation date latest: 1519 current location: creditline: Gift of James C. Gruener in memory of his wife, Florence Crowell Gruener copyright: --- culture: Mexico, Guerrero, Ichcatiopan, Mixtec or Aztec style technique: gold, jadeite department: Art of the Americas collection: AA - Mesoamerica type: Jewelry find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 8 x 7.2 cm (3 1/8 x 2 13/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Year in Review for 1983 opening date: 1984-02-22T05:00:00 The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984). title: The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art opening date: 1992-02-04T05:00:00 The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (André Emmerich, Inc., New York, NY, 1966, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener) date: ?-1966 footnotes: citations: James C. Gruener [1903-1990], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: 1966-1983 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1983- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Known for their exquisite craftsmanship, this piece is a rare example of Mixtec gold work, much of which was destroyed during the Spanish conquest. digital description: This unusual pendant comprises a polished jade plaque carved in the shape of the cross section of a conch shell and a delicate gold frame with tiny dangling bells. The cut conch was a jewel worn by Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), an Aztec culture hero and supernatural creature closely associated with the wind that brings rain clouds and new life. The pendant may have been found with a set of obsidian ear ornaments (1990.191). wall description: This extraordinary pendant consists of a conch shell section carved in jade, enclosed in a delicate gold frame with tiny dangling bells. This symbol was worn by the deity Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), a culture hero credited in one myth with creating human life by sprinkling his blood on ground bones. The pectoral may have been worn by a priest, or by a ceremonial impersonator of Quetzalcoatl. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Turner, Evan H. "Year in Review for 1983." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (1984): 38-79. page number: p. 76, no. 222 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25159848 Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. page number: Referenced: cat. no. 109, p. 273, Reproduced: p. 262 url: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25161367. --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1983.190/1983.190_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1983.190/1983.190_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1983.190/1983.190_full.tif