1968.32 Celt with incised plant motif (Olmec, Ahuelican, Guerrero, Mexico)

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Ground stone axe heads, or celts, were tools for clearing wood and brush from land to be farmed. Celts made of precious jadeite and serpentine were important in Olmec ritual and may have constituted a form of wealth. Great numbers of them were placed in caches. When they were planted vertically, these celts defined the central axis mundi, or World Tree, and the corners of the four-sided world, or cosmic maize field. Celts may even have symbolized ears of corn. Because the compact form was useful in revealing the quality of the stone and was easy to transport, jadeite and serpentine were widely traded in the form of celts, which could be incised with symbols or recarved as figures or other forms.

This carved, finely finished serpentine celt features a subtlety incised plant motif. Though it is unclear to the specific type of foliage depicted, the vines with flowering buds may represent maize. The dark green color of the stone is further associated with maize, vegetation, water, sky, and life. Celts such as this were likely objects that had ritual or specialized use and sacred significance, rather than a working tool.

Adapted from

Carol Robbins, Label text, A. H. Meadows Galleries, 2010.
F. Kent Reilly, PhD, DMA unpublished material [1973.17], 1992.

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.
I added additional bibliographic sources to TMS record based on the materials in object file.
General Description drawn from: DMA unpublished material [TMS Object Record Olmec Mask (1973.17), cited as Kent Reilly (1992)].

Catalogue essays

Dallas Art Association

Artist/designers

Cultures

Olmec

Pre-Columbian (American): AAT: 300016619

Olmec: AAT: 300017051

Geography

Mesoamerica

Mexico (nation): TGN: 7005560

Guerrero (state): TGN: 7005585

Ahuelicán (inhabited place): TGN: 7350170

Process/materials

serpentine: AAT: 300011627

carving: AAT: 300053149

polishing (finishing): AAT: 300053867

incising: AAT: 300053847

Historical periods

Middle Preclassic Period (Formative): AAT: 300016973

Formative Period (Preclassic): AAT: 300016973

Preclassic (Archaic / Formative / Mesoamerican period): AAT: 300016967

Individuals

Subject terms

sculpture: AAT: 300047090

celts (cutting tools): AAT: 300251881

supernatural (concepts): AAT: 300055947

green (color): AAT: 300128438

plant-derived motifs: AAT: 300164599

foliation (pattern): AAT: 300165104

maize (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398

corn (zea mays species): AAT: 300375398

tree of life (general motif / axis mundi /cosmic axis / world axis / world tree): AAT: 300312112

shiny: AAT: 300065244

ritual objects: AAT: 300312158

RELATED OBJECTS

PROVENANCE

From 1968: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas Art Association Purchase, purchased from Teochita, Inc., New York (Frances Pratt, dealer) [1], [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance is Acquisition Record (dated December 26, 1968, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[2] The Dallas Art Association is the predecessor to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name was abandoned in 1970. Works from this collection were transferred to the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts. The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

AUDIO ASSETS

VIDEO ASSETS

IMAGE ASSETS

253363377: UMO. [Caption] Corn flower (maize) with mature silk. Source: Tarek Siala (own work), Wikimedia Commons, accessed: June 03, 2015, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Corn_Flower_in_Libya.jpg.

WEB RESOURCES

ARCHIVAL RESOURCES

FUN FACTS

TEACHING IDEAS

RULES

Apply to objects where number equals 1968.32

General Description

Ground stone axe heads, or celts, were tools for clearing wood and brush from land to be farmed. Celts made of precious jadeite and serpentine were important in Olmec ritual and may have constituted a form of wealth. Great numbers of them were placed in caches. When they were planted vertically, these celts defined the central axis mundi, or World Tree, and the corners of the four-sided world, or cosmic maize field. Celts may even have symbolized ears of corn. Because the compact form was useful in revealing the quality of the stone and was easy to transport, jadeite and serpentine were widely traded in the form of celts, which could be incised with symbols or recarved as figures or other forms.