Celt pendant

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Greenstone pendants were manufactured in the Central and the Greater Nicoya regions of Costa Rica starting as early as 500 BCE, until around 800 CE. Made from a variety of raw materials, including jade and chrysoprase, these pendants often have a functional axe shape, that might or might not have been used as a tool, before becoming a ceremonial object, such as a funerary offering. The appearance of this distinctive style of pendants during a period of incipient social inequalities suggest that they were a sign of prestige and differentiation.

This pendant combines a variety of anthropomorphic and zoomorphic features. The general shape is that of a human figure, whose arms are represented by the horizontal incised lines. Two perforations take the place of the eyes, while the ears on top of the head are in fact tiny lizard figurines. The highly abstract depiction of the facial features makes it difficult to determine whether it is a human or a bird face, both of which are commonly represented in greenstone pendants.

Amanda Suárez Calderón, 2025

Further Reading

Hoopes, John. “Magical Substances in the Land between the Seas.” In Golden Kingdoms. Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Research Institute, 2017.

Kuboyama-Haraikawa, Waka. Celtiform Pendants from Pre-Columbian Costa Rica. Oxford, UK: BAR Publishing, 2023.

McEwan, Colin, and John Hoopes, eds. Pre-Columbian Art from Central America and Colombia at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2021.

Los artesanos de las regiones Central y Gran Nicoya de Costa Rica fabricaron pendientes de una variedad de piedras verdes, llamadas genéricamente jade, aproximadamente desde el 500 AEC hasta el 800 EC. Estos pendientes tienen a menudo forma de hacha, aunque no necesariamente fueron utilizados como tal, sino más bien como objetos ceremoniales que formaban parte de ofrendas funerarias. La aparición de estos pendientes con su estilo distintivo durante un periodo de surgimiento de desigualdades sociales sugiere que eran símbolos de prestigio y diferenciación.

Este pendiente combina una variedad de rasgos antropomorfos y zoomorfos. La silueta es la de una figura humana, cuyos brazos están representados con líneas incisas horizontales. Dos perforaciones redondas toman el lugar de los ojos, mientras que las orejas son en realidad figurillas diminutas de lagartijas. La representación altamente abstracta de los rasgos faciales dificulta determinar si se trata de un rostro humano o de ave, ambos motivos comunes en los pendientes de piedras verdes.

Amanda Suárez Calderón, 2025

Lecturas adicionales

Hoopes, John. “Magical Substances in the Land between the Seas.” In Golden Kingdoms. Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, edited by Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum and The Getty Research Institute, 2017.

Kuboyama-Haraikawa, Waka. Celtiform Pendants from Pre-Columbian Costa Rica. Oxford, UK: BAR Publishing, 2023.

McEwan, Colin, and John Hoopes, eds. Pre-Columbian Art from Central America and Colombia at Dumbarton Oaks. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2021.