GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This small, jadeite spoon pendant bears an incised motif that may represent a monkey or other supernatural creature. The figure wears a headdress and is shown with large, bulging eyes and a snarling grimace with exposed teeth. The large eyes may also indicate a state of trance or transformation, a bridge between the natural and supernatural worlds. Objects known as “spoons” may have functioned as trays from which hallucinogenic snuff was inhaled. The shape suggests the body of a tadpole, a creature associated with transformation, or a long-tailed bird, a fitting symbol for flight achieved through ecstatic intoxication. This pendant would have originally been suspended from a necklace or brooch by the smaller drilled holes at top and back of the figure. Objects such as these often accompanied the king on his journey through death to the otherworld.
Drawn from
- Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, DMA unpublished material, 1984.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1968.20], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1973.18], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002).
NOTES
- Olmec, Formative period, 900–500 B.C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 10/16/13, 03/14/16, and 03/21/16.
- Added curatorial remarks from Collections Records Object File into TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Remarks [see full-length entry below in Fun Facts section].
- Fun Facts Source: Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, personal communication with Carol Robbins (dated March 13, 1984, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Remarks.
- General Description drawn from: DMA unpublished material [Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, personal communication with Carol Robbins (dated March 13, 1984, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File)].
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Olmec: AAT: 300017051
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Guerrero (state): TGN: 7005585
Process/materials
jadeite (mineral): AAT: 300011121
carving: AAT: 300053149
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211
Historical periods
Middle Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016973
Preclassic (Archaic / Formative / Mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016967
Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002
spoons: AAT: 300043149
green (color): AAT: 300128438
hallucinogen (psychoactive agent): DMA
transformations (concepts / processes): DMA
monkeys (animals): AAT: 300250028
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
headdress: AAT: 300046023
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
shiny: AAT: 300065244
ritual objects: AAT: 300312158
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
n.d: Dr. and Sra. Josué Sáenz, Mexico, D.F. [1], [2]
Until 1973: Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc. [2], [3]
From 1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and The Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Object Worksheet (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- In 1984, Gilette Griffin, curator emeritus of Pre-Columbian and Native American art at the Princeton University Art Museum, had in his own collection a jadeite disk with a closely similar incised head that Olmec scholar Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon believed to be by the same hand. Joralemon read this image as a monkey.
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Apply to objects where number equals 1973.18
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General Description
This small, jadeite spoon pendant bears an incised motif that may represent a monkey or other supernatural creature. The figure wears a headdress and is shown with large, bulging eyes and a snarling grimace with exposed teeth. The large eyes may also indicate a state of trance or transformation, a bridge between the natural and supernatural worlds. Objects known as “spoons” may have functioned as trays from which hallucinogenic snuff was inhaled. The shape suggests the body of a tadpole, a creature associated with transformation, or a long-tailed bird, a fitting symbol for flight achieved through ecstatic intoxication. This pendant would have originally been suspended from a necklace or brooch by the smaller drilled holes at top and back of the figure. Objects such as these often accompanied the king on his journey through death to the otherworld.
Drawn from
- Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, DMA unpublished material, 1984.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1968.20], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Carol Robbins, Label text [1973.18], A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
- Getty Vocabulary, AAT (pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002).
Fun Facts
- In 1984, Gilette Griffin, curator emeritus of Pre-Columbian and Native American art at the Princeton University Art Museum, had in his own collection a jadeite disk with a closely similar incised head that Olmec scholar Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon believed to be by the same hand. Joralemon read this image as a monkey.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
- Olmec, Formative period, 900–500 B.C.E., updated by KJones in TMS on 10/16/13, 03/14/16, and 03/21/16.
- Added curatorial remarks from Collections Records Object File into TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Remarks [see full-length entry below in Fun Facts section].
- Fun Facts Source: Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, personal communication with Carol Robbins (dated March 13, 1984, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Remarks.
- General Description drawn from: DMA unpublished material [Peter David (P.D.) Joralemon, personal communication with Carol Robbins (dated March 13, 1984, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File)].
Cultures
Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619
Olmec: AAT: 300017051
Geography
Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560
Guerrero (state): TGN: 7005585
Process/materials
jadeite (mineral): AAT: 300011121
carving: AAT: 300053149
polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867
drillwork (sculpture technique): AAT: 300186211
Historical periods
Middle Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016973
Preclassic (Archaic / Formative / Mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016967
Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973
Individuals
Subject terms
worn costume accessories: AAT: 300209274
jewelry: AAT: 300209286
pendants (jewelry): AAT: 300046002
spoons: AAT: 300043149
green (color): AAT: 300128438
hallucinogen (psychoactive agent): DMA
transformations (concepts / processes): DMA
monkeys (animals): AAT: 300250028
supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947
headdress: AAT: 300046023
underworld (doctrinal concept): AAT: 300343823
shiny: AAT: 300065244
ritual objects: AAT: 300312158
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
n.d: Dr. and Sra. Josué Sáenz, Mexico, D.F. [1], [2]
Until 1973: Edward H. Merrin Gallery, Inc. [2], [3]
From 1973: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and The Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated [3], [4]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is Object Worksheet (n.d., copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated March 13, 1973, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[4] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
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