The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 10, 2022

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.)

Gift of James C. Gruener in memory of his wife, Florence Crowell Gruener 1983.190

Location

not on view

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.

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).

Provenance
?-1966
(André Emmerich, Inc., New York, NY, 1966, sold to James C. and Florence C. Gruener)
1966-1983
James C. Gruener [1903-1990], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1983-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Turner, Evan H. "Year in Review for 1983." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (1984): 38-79. Mentioned: P. 76, no. 222 www.jstor.org
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75. Mentioned and reproduced: No. 109, p. 262 www.jstor.org
Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).

The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-November 29, 1992).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.190